11 ills THE ODYSSEY OF HOMER fHarmtUan*s ^orkrt Amrriran anb lEngltali (Elaaaira A Series of English Texts, edited for use in Elementary and Secondary Schools, with Critical Introductions, Notes, etc. Addison's Sir Roger de Coverley. American Democracy from Washing- ton to Wilson. American Patriotism in Prose and Verse. Andersen's Fairy Tales. Arabian Nights' Entertainments. Arnold's Sohrab and Rustxim. Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Austen's Sense and Sensibility. Bacon's Essays. Baker's Out of the Northland. Bible iMemorable Passages). Blackmore's Loma Doone. Boswell's Life of Johnson. Abridged. Browning's Shorter Poems. Mrs. Browning's Poems (Selected'). Bryant's Thanatopsis, etc. Bryce on American Democracy. Biilwer-Lytton's Last Days of Pom- peii. Bunyan's The PUgrim's Progress. Burke's Speech on Conciliation. Bums' Poems (.Selections^. Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Byron's Shorter Poems. Carlyle's Essay on Bums. Carlyie's Heroes and Hero Worship. Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Won- derland. Chaucer's Prologue and Klnight's Tale. Church's The Story of the Iliad. Church's The Story of the Odyssey. Coleridge's The Ancient Mariner. Cooper's The Deerslayer. Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. Cooper's The Spy. Curtis' Prue and I. Dana's Two Years Before the Mast. Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Part I. Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Abridged. De Quincey's Confessions of an Eng- lish Opium-Eater. De Quincey's Joan of Arc, and The English Mail-Coach. Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and The Cricket on the Hearth. Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens' David Copperfield. (Two vols.) Dickens' Oliver Twist. Dryden's Palamon and Arcite. Early American Orations, 1760-182'4. Edwards' Sermons. Eliot's Mill on the Floss. Eliot's SUas Mamer. Emerson's Early Poems. Emerson's Essaj's. Emerson's Representative Men English Essays. EngUsh Narrative Poems. Epoch-making Papers in U. S. His- tory. Franklin's Autobiography. Mrs. Gaskell's Cranford. Goldsmith's The Deserted Village, and Other Poems. Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield. Gray's Elegy, etc., and Cowper's John Gilpin, etc. Grimm's Fairy Tales. Hale's The Man Without a Country. Hawthorne's Grandfather's Chair. Hawthorne's Mosses from an Old Manse. Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales. Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables. Hawthorne's Twice-told Tales (Se- lections). Hawthorne's Wonder-Book. Holmes' Autocrat of the Breakfast Table. Holmes' Poems. Homer's Iliad (Translated). Homer's Odyssey ; Translated). Hughes' Tom Brown's School Days. Hugo's Les Miserables. Abridged. Huxley's Selected Essays and Ad- dresses. Irving's Knickerbocker's History. Irving's Life of Goldsmith. Irving's Sketch Book. Irving's Tales of a Traveller. Irving's The Alhambra. Keary's Heroes of Asgard. a Kempis: The Imitation of Christ. Kingsley's The Heroes. Kingsley's Westward Ho ! Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare. Lamb's The Essays of Elia. Letters from Manv Pens. l^armiilau'fi Jorkrt Ammran nnh fcngltBlr (ElaaBtrfi A Series of English Texts, edited for use in Elementary axd Secondauv Schools, with Critical Introductions, Notes, etc. Lincoln's Aduresses, Inaugurals, and Letters. Lockhart's Life of Scott. Abridged. London's Call of the Wild. Longfellow's Evangeline. Longfellow's Hiawatha. Longfellow's Miles Standish. Lcngfeliow's Miles Standish and Minor Poems. Longfellow's Tales of a \7ayside Inn. Lowell's Earlier Es-says. Lowell's The Vision cf Sir Launfal. Macaulay's Essay on Addison. Macaulay's Essay on Hastings. Macaulay's Essay on Lord Clive. Macaulay's Essay on Milton. Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. Macaulay's Life of Samuel Johnson. Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. Milton's Minor Poems. Milton's Paradise Lost, Books I. ani II. Old English Ballads. Old Testament Selections. Palgrave's Golden Treasury. Parkman's Oregon Trail. Plutarch's Lives of Csesar, Brutus, and Mark Antony. Poe's Poems. Poe's Prose Tales (Selections). Poerns, Narrative and Lyrical. Pope's Homer's Iliad. Pope's Homer's Odyssey. Pope's The Rape of the Lock. Reade's Cloister and the Hearth. Representative Short Stories. Roosevelt's Writmgs. Rrssetti's (Christina) Selected Poems. Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies. Ruskin's The Crown of Wild Olive anCi. Queen of the Air, Scoti's Guy Mannering. Scott's Ivanhoe. Scott's Kenilworth. Scott's Lady of the Lake. Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel. Scott's Marmion. Scott's Quentin Durward. Scott's Rob Roy. Scott's The Talisman. Select Orations. Selected Poems, for RequL-ed Read- ing in Secondary Schools. Selections from American Poetry. Selections for Oral Reading. Shakespeare's As You Like It. Shakespeare's Coriolanus. Shakespeare's Hamlet. Shakespeare's Plenry V. Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Shakespeare's King Lear. Shakespeare's Macbeth. Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream Shakespeare's Richard U. Shakespeare's Richard IH. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare's The Tempest. Shakespeare's Twelfth Kight. Shelley and Keats: Poems. Sheridan's The Rivals and The School for Scandal. Short Stories. Short Stories and Selections. Southern Orators: Selections. Southern PoQts: Selections. Southey's Life of Nelson. Spenser's Faerie pueene. Book I. Stevenson's Kidnapped. Stevenson'sThe Master of Ballantrae. Stevenson's Travels with a Donkey, and An Inland Voj age. Stevenson's Treasure Island. Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Teimyson's Idylls of the King. Tennyson's In Memoriam. Teimyson's The Princess. Tennyson's Shorter Poems. Thackeray's EngUsh Humourists. Thackeray's Henry Esmond. Thoreau's Walden. Trevelyan's Life of Macauiay. Abridged. Virgil's ^neid. Washington's Farewell Address, and Webster's First Bunker Hill Ora- tion. Whittier's Snow-Bound and Other Early Poems. Wister's The Virginian. Woodman's Journal. Wordsworth's Shorter Poems THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Limited LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. TORONTO ■ ■ 'Iw^^^^^m Wm f ' |B ^^^^^^^^^^^__\ -i ^^^B^T^ ^^^ 3^1 si^^^l HOMER . THE ODYSSEY OF HOMER TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH VERSE BY ALEXANDER POPE EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY EDGAR S. SHUMWAY, Ph.D. FIRST ASSISTANT IN CLASSICAL LANGUAGES, MANUAL TRAINING HIGH SCHOOL, NEW YORK AND WALDO SHUMWAY, B.A. \ THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1920 All rights reserved COPTKIGHT, 1911, By the MACMILLAX COMPANY Set up and eiectrotyped. Published July, 191 1. NorSoaoH l^regg S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. SRLF YRL TO F. S. WIFE AND MOTHEH CONTENTS INTRODUCTION The Greek Epics and tiieiu Influence The Homeric Question .... The Story of the Odyssey and its Stories The Odyssey and "The Eternal Eeminix Aristocracy in the Odyssey Homer and the Lowly . The Scope of Homer . Translations .... Alexander Pope Selections for Reading Book List .... PAGH xi xii xvii xxi xxii xxiii XXV XXV ii , xxix xxxii xxxii THE ODYSSEY Book I. Council of Gods, Summons to Telemachus . 1 Book XL Ithacan Assembly ; Telemachus Departs . 20 Book III. Telemachus at Pyle 36 Book IV. Telemachus at Sparta 57 Book V. Calypso sends Ulysses forth on a Raft . . 93 Book VI. Ulysses lands in Phseacia . . . .114: Book VII. Nausicaa and Alcinous welcome Ulysses . 127 Book VIII. The Stay in Phseacia 142 Book IX. Ulysses' Story Begun : The Cyclops . . 160 Book X. ^olus, the Laestriirons, and Circe . . . 182 X CONTENTS PAGB Book XI. The Visit to the Land of the Dead . . 205 Book XII. Sirens, Scylla, Chary bdis, Oxen of the Sun . 231 Book XIII. Voyage from Ph^eacia to Ithaca . . . 249 Book XIV. Stay with Eumseus 20(5 Book XV. Telemachus and Eumseus .... 2S6 Book XVI. Telemachus recognizes Ulysses . . . 30G Book XVII. Telemachus returns to the Palace . . 323 Book XVIII. Fight of Ulysses with Irus . . . 345 Book XIX. Ulysses meets Penelope: Recognized by Euryclea 361 Book XX. Ulysses as Beggar in his Palace . . . 384 Book XXI. The Trial of the Bow of Ulysses . . .400 Book XXII. The Slaughter of the Suitors . . .416 Book XXIII, Penelope recognizes Ulysses . . . 434 Book XXIV. Ulysses and Laertes. Peace . . . 448 Notes ... 469 INTRODUCTION The Greek Epics and Their Influence The two great epics of the Greeks have come down to us as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the former (and earUer) deal- ing with the ten years' war at lUon (or Troy), the latter with the ten years' wanderings of Odysseus (or Ulysses) while trying to win his way home after Troy fell. City ruins have been found at Hissarlik, in Asiatic Turkey, bj^ the American citizen, Schliemann, and there is a general consensus of opinion that he is right in placing here the site of the ancient city, Ilion. The gold objects that he found are now in the Roj^al Etlmographical Museum in Berlin {das koenigliche Museum fuer Voelkerkunde). To such a degree has the subject of these immortal poems been cleared from the mists of myth and legend. The story of these epics hinges upon the elopement of Helen, wife of the Greek king ■\Ienelaus, with the Trojan prince, Paris, to Troy (where she became the wife of Paris) ; the expedition of the allied Greeks under Agamemnon, their ten years' fighting, crowned by the fall of Tro}', and then the varied fortunes of the returning Greeks, particularly Ulysses. The date of the Trojan war may be roughly set as at least a thousand years b.c. (probably much earlier). For the Greeks these poems were their foremost classics, and formed the basis of the classical studies of Greek youth. When Rome came to develop education, they, in turn, fur- XII INTRODUCTION nished classical studies for the Roman schools. Further, by inspiring Roman writers, as well as by giving them ma- terial, the}^ intensely affected Roman Uterature. This is particularly illustrated in Virgil, who used these poems as a storehouse from which to draw for his great Roman epic, the jEneid. Through the JEneid indirectly, and b}^ direct transmission, these poems have exercised a potent influence on modern literature ever since Dante. Our own literature is impossible of comprehension without them. To them might well be extended the assertion of Schopenhauer : '^\ man who does not understand Latin is like one who walks through a beautiful region in a fog; his horizon is very close to him. He sees only the nearest things clearly, and a few steps away from him the outlines of everything become indistinct or wholly lost." The Ho:\ieric Question Until the time of the German scholar "Wolf (1795), the tradition, never doubted by the keen-eyed Aristotle, was uni- versalh" accepted, that one great poet, the blind bard Homer, T\Tote these poems. Wolf started a controversy about the origin of the Homeric epics that has lasted ever since his time. Various and mutually contradictor^^ theories have been maintained and are still being defended. There is no generally accepted, clear, and definite theory of manifold authorship. A^Hiile the personality of the author, or authors, singer, or singers, editor, or editors, is not of serious impor- tance as compared with the poems themselves, yet it is proper that sonae words be said about the matter of authorship. Professor Sterrett {Iliad, N.Y., 1907) expresses a somewhat conservative view as follows : — IN TROD UC TION X i n "The events which formed the historical basis of the Iliad of Homer took place in the second half of the second thousand years before Christ. But long before these events occurred, .Eolic colonists had emigrated from the region of Mt. Olympus and Mt. Hehcon {i.e. from Thessaly and Boeotia) to the northwestern seaboard of Asia Minor and the islands adjacent thereto. These colonists took with them the old ballads sung by the Thracian bards on Mt. Olympus and Mt. Helicon ; they took with them the love of song and the ability to sing. In their new home they lived in constant warfare with the people whom they had displaced. Therefore they sang, not of the Muses, but of war and of heroes. . . . "The vEolic colonists who had settled in Asia Minor were followed by Ionic colonists, who also fixed their new abodes on the western seaboard of Asia and the adjacent islands, but south of yEolia. As time went on, the lonians became the ]Dolitical and intellectual superiors of the Cohans, whose ballads they adopted and adapted to their own use. It was in the region w^here yEoIia abutted on Ionia that the Iliad was composed about 850 b.c. " The Iliad was not composed in its entirety at one time; it grew gradually. Finally, on the confines of ^olia and Ionia, or on an island adjacent thereto there arose a great poet, named Homer, who made free use of the old heroic ballads in creating the kernel of the Iliad, i.e. he created the story of the Wrath of Achilles ; he sang of the beginning of the Wrath, the consequences of the Wrath to the Achseans, the abandonment of the Wrath and its results. This original Iliad was a unit; it had a beginning, a middle, and an end. Later on Homer himself inserted other ballads, other episodes, in this original Iliad. After his death further additions were made by other great and skilful, but unknown, poets. Xiy INTRODUCTION ''The Iliad was composed long before the invention of writing. Tlie poem was carried in the memory and was transmitted by word of mouth, first by Homer, and then by his successors, a guild of singers, called Homerids, who re- garded the trust as a heritage too sacred to be tampered with lightly, and so they handed it down practically unchanged until the time when it was finalh^ committed to writing after the invention of the alphabet, or rather after its introduction into Greece. Books were in existence at least one hundred years before Pisistratus (560-527) ordered the poems of Homer to be edited; i.e. the Iliad was committed to T^Titing not later than 660 B.C., and it had reached its present shape and extent not later than 760 B.C." These conclusions, of course, would be sul^ject to the proper modification in discussing the Odyssey, confessed!}' of later composition than the Iliad. Andrew Lang, a verj^ keen critic and himself a \\Titer of genius, supplies trenchant criticism of the vreak spots in the various theories of manifold authorship. He sharply attacks the two chief assumptions of those who denj^ Homeric author- ship, viz. compilation by (1) rhapsodists (the ''Homerids"), and by (2) an editor under Pisistratus of Athens (Lang, Homer and the Epic, 1893 ; Homer and His Age, 1906 ; World of Homer, 1910). He bases his main arguments on the con- sistenc}' throughout the poems in the life and objects described or implied, and the impossibilitj'- of later ^Titers' describing a life so remote from their own without anachrcnism, that is, without insensibly introducing objects and customs existent in their ovm times and nonexistent in the times of which they are vrriting, — as Shakespeare, for example, makes his Hamlet use a weapon of the times of Elizabeth. Lang's conclusion is : (1) That these poems are "the work INTRODUCTION XV of one age," each presenting "historical unity, unity of charac- ter, unity of customary law, unity in its archaeology." (2) That there is no evidence for a Homeric school, such as the priestly schools that preserved ''religious hymns and mythical hymns." (3) That writing existed, and the poems were probably transmitted from reciter to reciter in writing, not merely by memory. (The Cretans, it is now established, could write long before Homer.) (4) That the theory of an editor, under Pisistratus, who was virtually the compiler of these poems, is untenable. (He quotes the German scholars. Dr. Blass, ''an absurd legend," and Meyer, "a worthless tale " : Monro says, "mythi- cal anecdotes.") We have then the following as probable conclusions : One great poet. Homer, "wrote" the Odyssey, substantially as it exists to-day. Its transmission for thousands of years would necessitate minor changes both in language and contents. This poet wrote of deeds already so far awaj^ as to have become legendary. He therefore consistently wrote into his descriptions the customs and objects of his own time. Plomer lived at a time when bronze was still used for weap- ons offensive and defensive, including therein spear, sword, and, in part, harness, although the huge shield was commonly of oxhide plated with bronze, and this was so because the bow was in common use, and the light body-harness served to protect from "the flight of arrows" but not from heavy spear and sword. Iron, on the other hand, had come in only so far as to be used for agricultural tools, but was not yet hard- ened well enough to be used for weapons. He lived in a time when in government there was a loosely constructed feudal XVI INTRODUCTION sj'stem with an overlord whose actual power was largely at the mercy of his lieges — chieftains who had great power over their retainers. The position of the chief's wdfe was very high. Slavery, of course, existed. Marriage was accom- panied by bride-gift, a form of marriage by purchase. The Homeric chief was surrounded by crowds of armed retainers. The position of priest (soothsayer), and of poet or singer, was well defined, and well protected and honored, religion and literature thus flourishing under the chief's protection. Hos- pitality was a \artue appreciatively recorded by the bard, although the requirement that the stranger guest without credentials render obeisance and sit in the ashes at the hearth would indicate survival of the \aew that strangers might be held enemies and at the mercy of the chieftain. The Greeks, wherever described, were a seafaring people. The art is Phoenician {i.e. mainly AssjTian, with many objects of Egyptian provenance). The dead were burned, not buried. As to the future life it was imagined as that of hopeless shades. The men of Homer's time had outgrown the period of Ancestor Worship. Homer, then, possessed in his Greece what Leon Gautier calls the four necessary conditions of an epic. They have been given as : — (1) An uncritical age confusing history by legend, (2) A national environment with religious uniformity, (3) Poems dealing with — " Old imhappj'- far-off things And battles long ago." (4) Representative heroes, — the overlord, and his peers or paladins. To which ma}^ be added : — (5) Iling or Chieftain protector, to whose family and re- INTRODUCTION xvii tainers he was expected to furnish entertainment by reciting, night after night, epic poetry — not, therefore, "hmited," as the modern writer would say, "by space." (6) A fund of romantic tales and ballads — some of them apparently world-old — that could be adapted into the adventures of the hero. Homer's free use of existing songs, epics, and romantic tales has been tersely stated by Rudyard Kipling thus : — " Wen 'Omer smote 'is bloomin' lyre, 'E'd 'eard men sing by land and sea, And wot 'e thought 'e might require, 'E went and took, the same as me." So Professor Seymour concludes {Life in the Homeric Age, 1907) : "The stamp of a great personality seems to lie upon each of the two great poems. These poems have such unity as cannot easily be explained if they are the work of several poets." And Professor Palmer {Odyssey, 1891) puts the matter thus: "Whatever diverse poetic materials were originally employed, the resulting unity is conspicuous and astonishing. The Odyssey is no chance conglomerate. It is a masterpiece of poetic art, beautiful in its parts, and no less beautiful in its structure, bearing throughout the impress of a single mind." The Story of the Odyssey, and Its Stories The story of Ulysses' wanderings after leaving Troy has been summarized by Professor Seymour thus {Iliad, N.Y., 1903) : "Odysseus was driven by a storm (perhaps the same as that which drove the ships of IMenelaus to Crete) to the land of the Lotus-eaters (Book IX), thence to the island of xviu INTRODUCTION Polyphemus, thence to the island of ^Eolus (X), to the land of the Lsestrygonians (where eleven of his twelve ships were destroyed), and to the island of Circe, where he and his companions remained during a year. Then they went to Hades (XI) to consult the old seer Tiresias. After their return, they pass Scylla and Charj^bdis (XII) ; they came to the island of the Sun, and (urged on by hunger) killed one of his cows. They were punished by shipwTeck, from which Odysseus alone escaped, as innocent of the offence against the Sun. He was borne to the island of Calypso, where he remained for eight years. Then he returned to his home on Ithaca, enduring many sufferings on the way, but recei^•- ing kindly hospitalitj^ and aid from the Phseacians (V-XIII). He found his faithful wife, Penelope, surrounded by a large company of young and insolent suitors. These he killed with the help of Athena, Telemachus, and two henchmen, and regained his kingdom (XIV-XXI\0." Like Virgil in the jEneid, Homer does not arrange the order of his books in the order of the adventures of his hero. The adventures of nearly ten j'-ears are to be nar- rated by that wanderer to the court of the Phaeacian King Alcinous in the island of Scheria just before the Phaeacians bring him home to Ithaca. The action of the poem occupies only six weeks. The first four books are devoted to the conditions existing at his home, where his queen Penelope is besieged bj'' a swarm of insolent suitors for h^r hand, who are devouring the wealth of Od3"sseus, and insulting the j^oung prince Telemachus. The goddess Pallas Athene (Alinerva), Ulysses' great friend (in the first book), visits Telemachus and advises him to send the suitors to their homes and to go in search for his father. In Book II. Telemachus' attempt to dismiss the suitors is scornfully IN TROD UCTION xi X rejected by them, but he sails on his quest. Book III finds Telemachus at Pylos witli aged Xestor. In the even- ing of the next day Telemachus starts for Sparta to consult Menelaus. In Book IV, Telemachus arrives at the joalace of Menelaus, and is entertained, while the suitors at Ithaca, learning of his departure, send a ship to lie in wait for him and kill him on his return. The seventh day shows us Minerva (Book \) urging Jupiter, who sends Mercury (Hermes) to bid the nymph Calypso, with whom Ulysses has spent eight years, to let the hero depart. Then the hero makes and launches his raft, sails on the twelfth day of the action, reaches Scheria on the thirty-second da}^ since IVIinerva visited Ithaca. In Scheria, by the aid of the Phseacian princess Nausicaa, he is kindly received and entertained (Books VI-XII) and tells his stor}^ In Book XIII, the Phseacians sail with Ulysses, and land him vnXh the rich Phseacian gifts, in his sleep, on Ithaca's isle (the thirty-fifth day). The remaining books give his experiences with the swineherd Eumseus, Telemachus' return (Books XIII-XVI), Ulysses' experiences at the palace in the disguise of a beggar, the final slaughter of the suitors, Penel- ope's recognition of Ulysses (the fortj^-first day. Books XVII- XXIII), Laertes' greeting of his son Ulysses and the estaljhsh- ment of order in Ithaca (the fort3^-second day, Books XXIIII- XXIV). The poem falls, then, naturally into three larger divisions : (.4) The Introduction, giving the chaotic conditions at Ithaca in the absence of the overlord, the criminal folly of the suitors, as a justification for their later massacre, and Telemachus' quest. Thus the first four books : {B) The Vicissitudes of the Hero for ten years until he reaches Ithaca. Thus Books V-XIII : (C) The Vengeance and the Restoration of Good Government. Thus Books XIV-XXIV. XX IXTBODUCTIOli An interesting illustration of the lessons our forefathers discovered in the Odyssey maj^ be found in Bossu's essay pre- fixed to Gary's edition of Pope's Odyssey. We add a selec- tion : — ''A prince had been obhged to forsake his native country, and to head an army of his subjects in a foreign expedition. Having gloriously performed this enterprise, he was marching home again, and conducting his subjects to his own state ; but, spite of all the attempts with which the eagerness to return had inspired him, he was stopped b}- the wa}- b}' tempests for several years, and cast upon several countries differing from each other in manners and government. In these dangers, his companions, not always following his orders, perished through their own fault. The grandees of his country strangely abuse his absence, and raise no small disorders at home. They consume his estate, conspire to destroy his son, would constrain his queen to accept one of them for her husband ; and indulge themselves in all violence, so much the more, because they were persuaded he would never return. But at last he retiu-ns, and discovering himself only to his son and some others, who had continued firm to him, he is an ej^e-witness of the insolence of his enemies, punishes them according to their deserts, and restores to his island that tranquilhty and repose to which they (sic) had been strangers during his absence." Modern interest, perhaps, attaches more to the elaborate and artistic nature of the composition than to the civic les- sons to be drawn from it. The germ seems to be a world-\sdde popular tale of the returning warrior who finds it hard to secure his wife's recognition. This tale occurs even in China, we are told, and is probably older than Troy. The long tale of years during the warrior's wanderings is filled up, by con- INTRODUCTION xxi summate art, with episodes and adventures garnered from the whole world's Arabian Nights. So the stor}' of the Lotus-eaters' fairyland, where flowery food causes sweet ol)- livion ; of the Cyclopes, a fairy-tale found among Oghuzians, Esthonians, Basques, and Celts; of the mj^sterious Bag of Winds, an ancient witch-tale; of Circe, found in an ancient collection of Indian tales (though there she had the bad habit of eating the animalized men !) ; the Descent into Hell, common to national epics, like that of the South Sea Islanders, and that of the P'inns : — " How hast tho7i come to Manala? How cam'st thou to Tuonela ? Death came not on thee through sickness, Thou wast never slain by sorrow." — ■ Then the story of the Sirens, — mermaids ; of the Clasliing Rocks, known by the Aztecs; of Scylla; of the Phseacian Fairyland (in the ancient Indian tales) — all these and other Maerchen are caught up from the four corners of the world, assimilated into a creation ever youthful, that breathes the atmosphere of a single feudal period, and sings the wonderful music of a genius — Homer ! The Odyssey and ''The Eternal Feminine" a Das Ewigweihliche zieht uns hinan,'' sings Goethe, and the many-sided Homer taught him that ''the eternal feminine influence moulds man's life," — as he taught Virgil ''Dux femina facti/' that "the feminine incites the deed." Though this is the poem of the ^dse and patient warrior Ulysses, it is also the immortalization of the loving wife, shrewd and pa- XXii INTRODUCTION tient Penelope, of the sweet and wise maiden Xausicaa, the queenlj' Arete and Helen. Dead Anticlea becomes Ulysses' immortal mother. As many women as men appear to the hero in the nether world. As the faitlifui and the faithless man-servant are portrayed in Eumseus and Melanthius, so the corresponding female types are pictured in Euryclea and Melantho. As contrasted with the harem customs of historic Greece, woman in Homer has all the free and dignified com- radeship with man that is characteristic of our own country and time. Yet "emancipation" meant no confusion of spheres. Of Calj^pso even, "that fair goddess," we read: "And the nymph within was singing with a sweet voice as she fared to and fro before the loom, and v/ove with a shuttle of gold." Among the Ol^-mpians it is a goddess, Pallas Athene (^linerva), that stimulates and wisely guides the actions of the good to ultimate success. Yet she refrains from open strife and brawling against Ulj^sses' divine enemy, Neptune. The nymph Calypso, too, plays a large part in the hero's life, as did Queen Dido in that of VirgiFs hero. Theirs to renounce, to be deserted, at the behest of Jupiter. Only Dido, queen but woman, broke her heart, and embraced death — denied to the immortals ! Aristocracy ix the Odyssey From the all-too-brief glorj^ of the Achaean overlords, be- fore they sank, to be succeeded by the lonians (who, through the dark ages of Greece, kept Homer alive until their civiliza- tion blossomed in Pericles' Athens), we find Homer selecting picturesque phases of life, ^\-ith vi^ad and yet refined realism. (There is in all Homer not one Rahab !) INTRODUCTION XX in The pictures that he gives of kingly courts show a castle or palace with its great common hall, where overlord and lady are throned by the chief pillars beside the hearth. Near them sit the guests of honor. Their nobles fill the hall, each with his separate table. On the threshold, with his portion of meat, crouches the beggar. After the banquet, the honored minstrel of the overlord chants his ballads, or a canto of some epic song. As an example of the honor given bards, we note that Agamemnon, departing for Troy, charged his min- strel with the care of his queen. The women enjoy free comradeship, enter the common hall at will, participate in the common intercourse and enjoyments, but make household cares their metier, — weave, spin, knit, care for the poultry ; Nausicaa attends to the washing of the royal vestments. Now and then, some v/andering Phoenician pedlar charms them v/ith his wares, and kidnaps, if he can, som.e boy or maid. The overlord cared well for his lands, participating per- sonally in the hard agricultural tasks. Alcinous assigned to his nobles each his own share of ground, as did William the Conqueror. Ulysses was not only a farmer, but a clever shipbuilder and carpenter. Society had also its professional artisans — carpenters, potters, weavers, and smiths. Men are great hunters. They enjoy their law-courts, and their ath- letic contests. Homer and the Lowly "Homer's world," says Lang {The World of Homer, 1910), *'is aristocratic. The poet, none the less, has his .eye on the folk ; on the honest poor woman who carefully weighs her wool ; on the aged female thrall who is bi^sy all night over her XXIV INTROD UCTION task of grain-grinding, and prays that the wooers who have broken her strength ma}^ now eat their last meal. He is keenly interested in the work of artisans, such as the currier and shield-maker who wrought the great shield of Aias ; in the fisherman with his nets, or hne and bait; in the diver for oj^sters; in the woodmen with their axes; in sowing and ploughmg, and the relative merits of oxen and mules as plough- beasts ; in the quarrel between two farmers over their boun- dary balk in the common field ; in the lot of a landless man, the hardest lot of an}^ ; in gold- workers and spinners ; shep- herds, huntsmen, herdsmen ; in the potter wiio ' sitting by his wheel maketh trial of it whether it run' ; in the virtues of a s^dneherd, a slave, who is noble by birth, like Eumaeus; in all seafaring men down to the pursers and stewards; in the laughing girls that gather in the \dntage, while a boy makes sweet music, and sings the song of Linus with dehcate voice, in the ploughman who has a drink of wine at the end of the furrow; in the gardener with his orchard, the watering of a plot as it is done to this day in the East ; the fruit trees that Odysseus as a child was given 'for his very own'; in the smith's warm forge v\-here masterless tramps sleep at night; in the beggar men with their wallets, who crouch on the outer part of the threshold; in the old cadger who goes on the errands of the wooers ; in the little girl that runs till she is weary b}^ her mother's side, and catches at her skirt, prajdng to be taken up in her arms ; in the children who build castles \s-ith the sea sand; in boys who, 'always fond of mischief,' stone the wasp's nest, and make the angry wasps a common nuisance; or cudgel the stubborn ass that is too strong for them; in. all poor wa3^fa^ers who wander under the protec- tion of Zeus; in all suppliants who, ha\dng slain a man, embrace the knees of the prince to whom they flee." INTRODUCTION XXV The Scope of Homer Treating of Homer as universal poet, Lang says {Homer and the Study of Greek) : — "Homer is a poet of all ages, all races, and all moods. To the Greeks the epics were not only the best of romances, the richest of poetry ; not only their oldest documents about their owTi history, — they were also their Bible, their treasury of religious traditions and moral teaching. With the Bible and Shakespeare, the Homeric poems are the best training for hfe. There is no good quality that they lack; manliness, courage, reverence for old age and for the hospitable hearth, justice, piety, pity, a brave attitude toward life and death, are all conspicuous in Homer. He has to write of battles; and he delights in the joy of battle, and in all the movement of war. Yet he delights not less, but more, in peace; in prosperous cities, hearths secure, in the tender beauty of children, in the love of wedded wives, in the frank nobility of maidens, in the beauty of earth and sky and sea, and the seaward murmuring river, in sun and snow, frost and mist and rain, in the whispered talk of boy and girl beneath oak and pine tree. . . . Such are the moods of Homer; so full of love, of life, and all things living, so rich in all human sym- pathies, so readily moved when the great hound Argus wel- comes his master, whom none knew after twenty years, but the hound knew him, and died in that welcome. With all this love of the real, which makes him dwell so fondlj^ on every detail of armor, of implement, of art ; on the divers-colored gold-work of the shield, on the making of tires for chariot- wheels, on the forging of iron, on the rose-tinted ivory of the Sidonians, on cooking and eating and sacrificing, on pet dogs, xxvi INTRODUCTION- on wasps and their ways, on fishing, on the boar hunt, on scenes in baths where fair maidens hive water over the heroes, on undiscovered isles with good harbours and rich land, on ploughing, mowing, and sowing, on the furniture of houses, on golden vases wherein the white dust of the dead is laid, — with all this delight in the real, Homer is the most romantic of poets. He walks with the surest foot in the darkling realm of dread Persephone beneath the poplars on the solemn last beach of Ocean. He has heard the Siren's music, and the song of Circe, chanting as she walks to and fro, casting the golden shuttle through the loom of gold. He enters the cave of the Man Eater ; he knows the unsunned land of the Cim- merians : in the summer of the North he has looked, from the fiord of the Laestrygons, on the ^Midnight Sun. He has dwelt on the floating isle of ^Eolus, with its walls of bronze unbroken, and has sailed on those Pliceacian barks that need no help of helm or oar, that fear no stress, either of wind or tide, that come and go and return obedient to a thought and silent as a dream. He has seen the four maidens of Circe, daughters of wells and woods, and of sacred streams. He is the second- sighted man, and beholds the shroud that wTaps the living who are doomed, and the mystic dripping from the walls of blood yet unshed. He has walked in the garden closes of Phtracia, and looked on the face of gods who fare thither, and watched the wea\-ing of the dance. He has eaten the honey- sweet fruit of the lotus, and from the hand of Helen he brings us that Eg3'ptian nepenthe which puts all sorrow out of mind. His real world is as real as that in Henry V, his enchanted isles are charmed with the magic of the Tempest. His young woo- ers are as insolent as Claudio, as flushed with youth ; . . . his Xausicaa is sister to Rosalind, with a different charm of stately purity in love. His enchantresses hold us yet with INTRODrrrnOX xxvi; their sorceries; his Helen is verj' Beauty; she has all the sweetness of ideal womanhood, and her repentance is without remorse. His Achilles is youth itself, glorioas, cruel, pitiful, splendid, and sad, ardent, and loving, and conscious of its doom. Homer, in truth, is to be matched only with Shake- speare, and of Shakespeare he has not the occasional wilful- ness, freakishness, and modish obscurity. He is a poet all of gold, universal as humanity, simple as childhood, masical now as the flow of his own rivers, now as the heavy plunging wave of his ov.'n Ocean." Trax.slations Men have never tired, seemingh' \\-ill never tire of tr}'ing to express Homer in translation. Some twenty-five transla- tions exist in English. To each generation and each trans- lator, it would seem, some new facet of the poet's many-sided- ness appeals. Shakespeare's contemporary- and Ben Jonson's friend, Chapman, did the first complete translation in 1598- 1614. To the taste of Queen Anne's day his version was dis- figured by its euphuisms — its quaint conceits and studied over-refinements. Pope next (1725,) expressed in his version the smooth elegance of his day and school. Cowper's translation (blank verse, 1791j, seems to our taste somewhat rough. Bryant's (blank verse, 1872) stately movement jast falls short of the fire of the original. Worsley's version in the Spencerian .stanza C1861) worthily expresses the romantic element in the original. Avia (1880) has a version in sLx anapests. In prose. Butcher and Lang (1879) have written an admirable version iLsing locutions drawn from the .st^^le of the translators of the Authorized Version of the Bible. They XXVIU INTRODUCTION have thus added rh>i;hm and quaintness to their prose. Palmer has also lately (1891) published a close, dignified, and graceful version in prose. Besides these should be mentioned Henry Gary's prose version in 1823, jMorris' translation in 1887, Way's in 1904, and ]\Iackairs in 1905. "The style of Homer," says Professor Palmer, ''is radiant with the freshness of the early world. He seems always to be thinking of ever\i;hing for the first time. Grave and weighty though he is, he has a simplicit}' and swdftness that are the despair of translators. His common cast of phrase is inex- phcabl}' fehcitous. ' There's magic in the web of it,' but there is no constraint. . . . Similes are common, metaphors rare ; the thing and that wdth wliich it is compared remain two and unblended, exactly as in fife." Pope's version has been fairh^ criticised b}- ]\Iatthew Ar- nold : '' Pope's couplet, with the simple system of corre- spondence that its rhj^mes introduce, changes the movement of Homer, in which no such correspondences are found, and is therefore a bad measure for a translator to employ." It may hQ admitted that the present version sacrifices much that is essential to Homer — much of liis freshness, his simplicity, his swift onward rush. Here w-e have Pope, not Homer (as Bentley said). Yet there remains much of Homer's pellucid quality and kingly style. Further it must not be forgotten that we have here an essential link in the chain of English literature that extends from Shakespearian Ghapman, whose version lay open before Pope as he WTote, to the present. Alan^^ the felicitous phrases of Pope's Homer that became "household words" to our fathers. Many still cling to our unconscious tongues. Reading this volume we greet them in glad surprise, — old friends encountered quite unexpectedly in a clime to us, alas, foreign, but their home. INTROD UCTION X x i X To the teacher then we may recommend Pope's couplet : — " Pius observe our hospitable laws And heaven propitiate in the stranger's cause." And we hope that to the student will be not " hateful he that breathes a foreign air." Alexander Pope Alexander Pope was born in London on the twenty-first of May, 1688. His grandfather, on his father's side, was a clergyman of the Church of England, but his father was a linen merchant and a member of the Roman Catholic Church, to which he had become converted during his apprenticeship in Lisbon. His mother, the daughter of William Turner of York, had been previously married to a Mr. Rackett. In 1690 his father purchased a small estate in Binfield, to which he moved shortly after. Here the family lived until 1716, when they moved to Chisw^ick, where, a year later, his father died. Soon afterwards. Pope, then famous, leased an estate at Twickenham, which he occupied until his death in 1744. He was taught to read and TiTite at home, and at the age of eight was placed under the care of the family priest who taught him the elements of Latin and Greek. Later he was sent to a celebrated Catholic seminary near Winchester, which he soon left, however, as a result of a flogging, received for lampoon- ing the head-master. He then attended several other schools, without much better success. Finally he resolved to educate himself, and dipped into a great number of English, French, XXX INTRODUCTIOI^ Italian, Latin and Greek authors, as he saj^s in a letter, "with- out any design but that of pleasing m^^self." He was in man^v' ways a precocious child, and early showed his poetical talent by writing verse at the age of ten. ^Vhen only sixteen he wrote a volume of Pastorals, which were pubhshed in 1709. From that time he was constantlj^ en- gaged in poetical production. His most important works are: Pastorals (1709), Essaij on Criticism (1711), Rape of the Lock (171-4), Translation of Iliad (1715-1720), Dunciad (first form) (1728), Epistle to the Earl of Burlington (1731), On the Use of Riches (1732), Essay on Moji, part I (1732), Horace, Satire 2, 1, Imitated (1733), Epistle to Lord Cobham (1733), Epistle to Dr. Arhuthnot (1735), Horace, Epistle 1,1, Imitated (1737), Dunciad (final form) (1742). His works were col- lected b}^ his literary executor, Bishop Warburton, and pul:>- lished in nine volumes (1751). Pope was never able to enter public life to an}^ extent on account of his deformed body and poor health. He was stunted and thin, crooked and feeble, and subject to severe bodily pains. This made him very irritable and fretful. His whole life is a history of bitter C([uarrels. fie alienated many friends by his disagreeable character. He attacked Addison, the most celebrated literary man of the day, in a bitter satire because of a fancied slight to his version of the Iliad. When liis \dolent passion for Lady Wortlej^ Montagu w^as repulsed, he attacked her vdih. as violent insults. His character is portrayed as mahcious, penurious, secretive, unchivalrous, underhanded, and implacable. Yet, on the other hand, we must give him credit for being a dutiful son, a warm friend, thoroughly independent. In religion he was liberal and enlightened. Though unscrupulous in small affairs, in large ones he was notably honest. While INTRODUCTION xxxi he was unrelenting in his attack upon poor versifiers, he was quick to honor excellence. We are prone to dwell upon the mean and petty qualities of the man overmuch. Faults he had to be sure, but we may attribute many to his deformed body and poor health. As a poet, he was, within certain limits, the greatest master of form England has known. In his youth. Pope had made several classical translations, and had long cherished a desire to translate the whole of Homer. Encouraged by his friends, in 1713 he circulated proposals for subscription to a new translation of Homer's Iliad. The returns were favorable and in June, 1715, the first volume appeared, followed by others until 1720, when the work was completed. His success was such as to encourage him to attempt a version of the Odyssey, which was completed in 1726. Pope himself translated only half of the Odyssey, Books HI, V, VII, IX, X, XIII, XIV, XV, XYII, XXI, XXII, and XXIV. The others were translated by Broome and Fenton, two scholars whom he employed as collaborators. It is interesting to note that while Pope received £10,000 for his translation, he paid his assistants but £900 between them. Of his method in translating. Pope saj^s, ''In translating both the Iliad and the Odyssey, my usual method was to cor- rect each book, first by the original text, then by other trans- lations, and lastly to give it a reading for the ^versification alone." Though he was by no means a profound scholar of Greek, he had constantly by him a Latin translation and a number of the best French and English versions, and his work is remarkably free from errors. BIBLIOGRAPHY Selections for Reading For those who lack the time to read the whole Odyssej^ some suggestion of choice may be contained in the English syllabus for students entering college in 1913-1915. The suggestion is thus made: "with the omission, if desired, of Books I-V, and XV-XVII." A still narrower range of reading is indicated by the Greek syllabus for New York State, and that for New York City, as : selections from Books V-XII ; Book VI to be read entu*e. Book List Albracht, Franz, Kampf und Kampfsehilderung bei Homer, Naumhurg, 1886, 1895. Ameis-Hentze, Text and German footnotes, Leipzig, Teubner. Arnold, Matthew, Essay on Translating Homer, London, 1861. Arz, Franz, die Frau im homerisehen Zeitalter, Hermann- stadt, 1898o AssMAN, Ernst, das Floss der Odyssee, Berlin, 1898. AviA, Translation (in six anapests), 1880. Barker, Webb, P., la Topographie de la Troade ancienne et moderne, Paris, 1844. Berard, Victor, les Pheniciens et 1' Odyssee, Paris, 1902- 1903. Bernhardt, Kurt, das Trankopfer bei Homer, Leipzig, 1885. xxxiii xxxiv BIBLIOGRAPHY Blass, Friedrich, die Interpolationen in der Odyssee, Halle, 1904. BoHSE, Paul, die Moira bei Homer, Berlin, 1893. Braumuller, Otto, Kranklieit und Tod bei Homer, Berlin, 1879. Breal, Michel, Pour mieux connaitre Homere, Paris, 1906. Browne, Henry, Handbook of Homeric Study, London, 1905. Bryant, William Cullen, Translation, Boston, 1872. BucHOLZ, Eduard, die homerischen Realien, Leipzig, 1871- 1885 (3 vols.). Butcher and Lang, Translation, London, 1879 (also New York, 1903). Butler, Samuel, The Authoress of the Odyssey, London, 1897. Gary, Henry, Translation, London, 1823. Cauer, Paul, Grundfragen der Homerkritik, Leipzig, 1895. Chalcondylas, Demetrius, Earliest Printed Edition, Flor- ence, 14SS. Champault, Philippe, Pheniciens et Grees en Italie d'apres rOdyssee, Paris, 1903. Chapman, George, Translations (1598-1615), reprinted (ed. Hooper), 2d ed., London, 1865. Clerke, Agnes, Familiar Studies in Homer, London, 1897. CowPER, William, Translation, London, 1791. Daremberg, Charles, la Medeeine dans Homere, Paris, 1865. Decker, Friedrich, iiber die Stellung der hellenisehen Frauen bei Homer, Magdeburg, 1883. Delorme, S., les Hommes d'Homere, Paris, 1861. DoRPFELD, Wilhelm, Troja und Ilion, Athens, 1902 (2 vols.). Dorpfeld, Wilhelm, Leukas, Athens, 1905. Drerup, Engelbert, Homer, Munich, 1903. Egerer, p. Gislar, die homerische Gastfreundsehaft, Salzburg, 1881. Engel, Fr. Joseph, zum Reehte der Schutzflenenden bei Homer, Passau, 1899. BIBLIOGRAPHY X X x v Engelman, R., Bilderatlas zu Homer, Leipzig, 1889. Fanta, Adolf, der Staat in der Ilias und Odyssee, Innsbruck^ 1882. Peith, Everhard, Antiqiiitatum Homericarum libri IV., Editio nova, Strassburg, 1743. Fellner, Stephan, die homerisehe Flora, Vienna, 1897. FoRCHHAMMER, P. W., Homer I seine Sprache, die Kampf- platze seiner Heroen und Gotter in der Troas, Kiel, 1893. Frolich, H., Die Militarniediein Homers, Stuttgart, 1879. Gandar, E., Homere et la Grece contemporaine, Paris, 1858. Gardner, Percy, New Chapters in Greek History, London, 1892. Geddes, William D., The Problem of the Homeric Poems, London, 1878. Gladstone, W. E., Homer and Homeric Age, Oxford, 1858. Gladstone, W. E., Studies on Homer, 3 vols., Oxford, 1858. Gladstone, W. E., Homeric Synchronism, New York, 1876. Gladstone, W. E., Landmarks of Homeric Study, London, 1890. Goessler, Peter, Leukas-Ithaka, Stuttgart, 1904. Grashof, K. H. F., das Schiff bei Homer und Hesiod, Dussel- dorf, 1834. Grashof, K. H. F., das Puhrwerk bei Homer und Hesiod, Dusseldorf, 1846. Gunther, Friedrich, Der Ackerbau bei Homer, Bemburg, 1866. Hall, Arthur ("A. H."), Translation, Ten Books, Iliad (after French of Salel, 1555), London, 1587, Black Letter. Hall, H. R., The Oldest Civilization of Greece, London, 1901. Helbig, Wolfgang, das homerisehe Epos aus den Denkmaler erlautert, 2 Aufl., Leipzig, 1887. Helbig, Wolfgang, zu den homerischen Bestattungsge- brauchen, Munich, 1900. Hepp, Leo, Politischen und Sociales aus der Ilias und Odyssee, Rottweil, 1883. XXXVl BIBLIOGRAPHY HoRT, Max, vom Weine bei Homer, Straubing, 1871. Inghirami, Francesco, Gallera Omerica, o raccolta di Monu- menti Antichi per ser^ire alio Studio dell' Iliade e dell' Odissea, 3 vols., Florence, 1827-1S31. IsHAM, Norman M., The Homeric Palace, Providence, 1898. Jebb, Richard C, Homer, Glasgoir, 1887. Jebb, Richard C, Introduction to Iliad and Odyssey, Glasgow, 1894. Joseph, D., die Palaste des homerisclien Epos, Berlin, 1893. JuBAiNviLLE, H. D'Arbois De, la Ci\dlisation des Celtes et ceUe de I'Epopee Homerique, Paris, 1899. Keller, Albert G., Homeric Societ3% New York, 1902. Klotzer, R. F. J., die griechische Erziehung in Homers Ilias und Odyssee, Zwickau, 1891. KoERNER, Otto, die homerische Thierswelt, Berlin, 1880. Koerner, Otto, Wesen und Wert der homerischen Heil- kunde, Wiesbaden, 1904. KucHEXMEisTER, iibcr das in Homer . . . physiologiseh- medizinische INIaterial, Berlin, 1855. La Roche, J., Text and notes, Leipzig, 1867. Lang, Andrew, Homer and the Epic, London, 1893. Lang, Andrew, Homer and his Age, London, 1906. Lang, Andrew, The World of Homer, London, 1910. Lang and Butcher, Translation, see Butcher. Lawton, William C, Art and Humanity in Homer, New York, 1896. Leaf, Walter, A Companion to the Iliad, London, 1892. Le Chevalier, Voyage dans la Troade, 2me ed., Paris, Fan vii. Lindner, Robert, Ritter von, das Eingreifen der Gotter in die Handlung der Ilias, Landskron, 1882. LowNER, Heinrich, dic Herolde in den homerischen Gesangen, Eger, 1881. Mack AIL, J. W., Lectures on Greek Poetry, London, 1910. Mackail, J. W., Translation, 1905. , BIBLIOGRAPHY XXXvii Mangold, B., la Ville Homerique, Berlin, 1887. De Malees, H. W. a., Versuch liber die Cultur der Griechen zur Zeit des Homer, Berlin, 1797. Merry, W. W., Odyssey (Text and copious Notes), Oxford, 1878 (2 vols.). Merry, W. W., and Riddell, Odyssey (Text and Introduc- tion), Oxford, 1886. MiEHE, GusTAv, Verwandtschaft und Familie in den homer- ischen Gedichten, Halberstadt, 1878. Morris, William, Translation, London, 1887. MuNRO, Odyssey (Text and Notes), Oxford, 1901. Murray, G., Rise of Greek Epic, Oxford, 1907. Nagelsbach, Carl Fr. von, Homerisehe Theologie, 3te Aufl., Nure7nherg, 1884. NiESE, Bernard, der homerisehe Schiffskatalog, Kiel, 1873. NoACK, Ferdinand, Homerisehe Palaste, Leipzig, 1903. Palmer, George H., Translation, Boston, 1891. Perry, Walter Copland, The Women of Homer, New York, 1898. Platner, Eduard, Notiones Juris et Justitiae ex Homeri carminibus, Marburg, 1819. Pope, Alexander, Translation, London, 1725. Protodicos, Joannes, de ^dibus Homerieis, Leipzig, 1877. Reichel, Wolfgang, iiber homerisehe Waffen, 2 Aufl., Vienna, 1901. Ridge WAY, William, The Early Age of Greece, I., Cambridge, 1901. Riedenauer, Anton, Handwerk und Handwerker in den homerischen Seiten, Erlangen, 1873. Robert, Carl, Studien zur Ilias, Berlin, 1901. RuMPF, J, H. S., de Interioris ^dium Homeriearum partibus, Giessen, 1858. Schenkl, Heinrich, Ithaka, der Peloponnes, und Troja, Leipzig, 1869. xxxvill BIBLIOGRAPHY ScHLiEMANN, Heinrich, die homerische Palastbeschreibung, Vienna, 1893. ScHLiEMANN, Heinrich, Trojanlsche Alterthiimer, Leipzig, 1874. ScHLiEMANN, Heinrich, Ilios, N cw York, 1881. SCHLIEMANN, Heinrich, Troja, New York, 1884. ScHLiEMANN, Heinrich, Tii'yns, New York, 1885. Schoemann, G. F., Grieehische Alterthumer, 4te Aufl., neu bearbeitet von J. H. Lipsius, I., Berlin, 1897. ScHUCHHARDT, Carl, Schliemann's Excavations, translated by Eugenie Sellers, New York, 1891. Seymour, Thomas Day, Life in the Homeric Age, New York, 1907. SoRGENFREY, Th., de Vestigiis Juris Gentium Homerici, Leipzig, 1871. Spohx, Fr. a. G., die Agro Trojano in Carminibus Homericis descripto, Leipzig, 1814. Studxiczka, Franz, Beitrage zur Geschichte der altgriechis- chen Tracht, Vienna, 1886. Timayenis, T. T., Greece in the Times of Homer, New York, 1885. Tsountas, Chrestos, and J. Irving Manatt, The Myce- naean Age, Boston, 1897. Tyler, W. S., The Theology of the Greek Poets, Boston, 1867. Veckenstedt, a. E., Regia Potestas quae fuerit secundum Homerum, Halle, 1867. Volcker, K. H. W., iiber homerische Geographie und Welt- kunde, Hannover, 1830. Warren, William F., Homer's Abode of the Dead, Boston, 1883. Warren, William F., Homer's Abode of the Living, Boston, 1885. Way, Translation, 1904. Wengener, Wilhelm, die Tierwelt bei Homer, Konigsberg, 1887. BIBLIOGRAPHY xxxix Weissenborn, Edmund, Leben und Sitte bei Homer, Leipzig, 1901. Weissenborn's Homeric Life, translated by G. C. Scoggin and C. G. Burldtt, New York, 1903. VViLKiNS, G., Growth of Homeric Poems, London, 1895. Wood, Robert, Versuch uber das Originalgenie des Homers (aus dem Englischen), Frankfort, 1773. WoRSLEY, Philip Stanhope, Translation, London, 1861. THE ODYSSEY BOOK I ARGUMENT The poem opens within forty-eight days of the arrival of Ulysses in his dominions. He had now remained seven years in the island of Calypso, when the gods assembled in council proposed the method of his departure from thence, and his return to his native country. For this purpose it is concluded to send Mercury to Calypso, and Pallas im- mediately descends to Ithaca. She holds a conference with Telema- chus, in the shape of Mentes king of the Taphians ; in which she advises him to take a journey, in quest of his father Ulysses, to Pylos and Sparta, where Nestor and Menelaiis yet reigned ; then, after having visibly displayed her divinity, disappears. The suitors of Penelope make great entertainments, and riot in' her palace till night. Phemius sings to them the return of the Grecians till Penelope puts a stop to the song. Some words arise between the suitors and Telemachus, who summons the council to meet the day following. The man for wisdom's various arts renown'd, Long exercised in woes, 0 muse° ! resound ; Who, when his arms had wrought the destined fall Of sacred Tro3^,° and razed her heaven-built wall, Wandering from clime to clime, observant stray'd^ 5 Their manners noted, and their states survey'd. B 1 THE ODYSSEY On stormy seas unnumber'd toils he bore, Safe \sdth his friends to gain his natal shore° : Vain toils ! their impious folly dared to prey On herds devoted to the god° of daj^ ; The god vindictive doom'd them never more 5 (Ah, men unbless'd !) to touch that natal shore. Oh snatch some portion of these acts from fate, Celestial muse ! and to our world relate. Now at their native realms the Greeks arrived ; All who the war° of ten long years survived, 10 And 'scaped the perils of the gulfy main. Ulysses, sole of all the victor train. An exile from his dear paternal coast. Deplored his absent queen, and empire lost. Calypso° in her caves constrain'd his stay, 15 With sweet, reluctant, amorous delay : In vain — for now the circling years disclose The day predestined to reward his woes. At length his Ithaca is given by fate, Where yet new labours his arrival wait ; 20 At length their rage the hostile powers restrain, All but the ruthless monarch^ of the main. But now the god remote, a heavenly guest, In Ethiopia graced the genial feast ; (A race divided, whom TNith sloping rays 25 The rising and descending sun surveys ;) There on the world's extremest verge, revered With hecatombs and prayer in pomp preferr'd, Distant he lay ; while in the bright abodes Of high OhTnpus,° Jove° convened the gods : 30 The assembly thus the sire supreme address'd, ^gysthus'° fate revolving in his breast, MINERVA'S DESCENT TO ITHACA d Whom young Orestes to the dreary coast Of Pluto° sent, a blood-poUuted ghost : "Perverse mankind ! whose wills, created free, Charge all their woes on absolute decree ; All to the dooming gods their guilt translate, 5 And follies are miscall'd the crimes of fate. When to his lust ^Egysthus gave the rein, Did fate, or we, the adulterous act constrain ? Did fate, or we, when great Atridcs° died, Urge the bold traitor to the regicide ? to Hermes° I sent, while yet his soul remain'd Sincere® from royal blood, and faith profaned To warn the wretch, that young Orestes, grown To manly years, should re-assert the throne. Yet impotent of mind, and uncontroll'd, 15 He plunged into the gulf which heaven foretold." Here paused the god ; and pensive thus replies Minerva,° graceful with her azure eyes: " 0 thou ! from whom the whole creation springs, The source of power on earth derived to kings ! 20 His death was equal to the direful deed ; So may the man of blood be doom'd to bleed ! But grief and rage alternate wound my breast For brave Ulysses, still by fate oppress'd. Amidst an isle, around whose rocky shore 25 The forests murmur, and the surges roar. The blameless hero from his wish'd-for home A goddess guards in her enchanted dome. (Atlas° her sire, to whose far-piercing eye The wonders of the deep expanded lie ; The eternal columns which on earth he rears End in the starry vault, and prop the spheres.) THE ODYSSEY By his fair daughter is the chief confined, Who soothes to dear dehght his anxious mind : Successless all her soft caresses prove To banish from his breast his country's love ; To see the smoke from his loved palace rise, ^ While the dear isle in distant prospect lies, With that contentment could he close his eyes ! And wiYi. Omnipotence neglect to save The suffering virtue of the wise and brave ? Must he, whose altars on the Pliiygian° shore lo With frequent rites, and pure, avow'd thy power, Be doom'd the worst of human ills to prove, Unbless'd, abandoned to the wTath of Jove?" ''Daughter ! what words have pass'd thy hps unweigh'd ? (Replied the Thunderer to the martial maid) 15 Deem not unjustly bj'" my doom oppressed Of human race the wisest and the best. Neptune, bj^ prayer repentant rarely won. Afflicts the chief, to avenge liis .giant son, Whose \dsual orb Ulj^sses robb'd of hght ; 20 Great Poh'pheme,° of more than mortal might, Him young Thoosa bore (the bright increase Of Phorcj^s, dreaded in the sounds and seas) "Wliom Xeptune ej'ed wdth bloom of beauty bless'd, And in his cave the yielding nymph compress'd. 25 For tliis, the god constrains the Greek to roam, A hopeless exile from liis native home, From death alone exempt — but cease to mourn ; Let all combine to achieve his -^dsh'd return : Xeptune, atoned. Ids ^\Tath shall now refrain, 39 Or thwart the synod of the gods in vain." " Father and king adored !" Minerva cried, MINERVA^ S DESCENT TO ITHACA ft " Since all who in the Olympian bower reside Now make the wandering Greek their public care, Let Hermes to the Atlantic isle° repair ; Bid him, arrived in bright Calypso's court. The sanction of the assembled powers report : s That wise Ulysses to his native land Must speed, obedient to their high command. Meantime Telemachus,° the blooming heir Of sea-girt Ithaca, demands my care : 'Tis mine, to form his green unpractised years, lo In sage debates, surrounded with his peers. To save the state ; and timely to restrain The bold intrusion of the suitor-train° Who crowd his palace, and with lawless power His herds and flocks in feastful rites devour. i$ To distant Sparta, and the spacious waste Of sandy Pyle, the royal youth shall haste. There, warm with filial love, the cause inquire That from his realm retards his god-hke sire : Delivering early to the voice of fame 20 The promise of a great immortal name." She said : the sandals of celestial mould. Fledged with ambrosial plumes, and rich with gold, Surround her feet : with these sublime° she sails The aerial space, and mounts the winged gales : 25 O'er earth and ocean wide prepared to soar. Her dreaded arm a beamy javelin bore, Ponderous and vast ; which, when her fury burns, Proud tyrants humbles, and whole hosts o'erturns. From high Olympus prone her flight she bends, 30 And in the realm of Ithaca descends. Her lineaments divine, the grave disguise THE ODYSSEY Of Mentes' form conceal' d from human eyes : (MenteSj the monarch of the Taphian land) A glittering spear waved awful in her hand. There in the portal placed, the heaven-born maid Enormous riot and misrule survey'd. $ On hides of beeves, before the palace-gate, (Sad spoils of luxury) the suitors sat. With rival art, and ardour in their mien, At chess they vie, to captivate the queen ; Divining of their loves. Attending nigh, lo A menial train the flowing bowl suppl}' : Others, apart, the spacious hall prepare, And form the costly feast with busy care. There young Telemachus, his bloomy face Glowing celestial sweet, with godlike grace is Amid the circle shines : but hope and fear (Painful vicissitude !) liis bosom tear. Now imaged in his mind, he sees restored. In peace and joy, the people's rightful lord° ; The proud oppressors fly the vengeful sword. 20 While his fond soul these fancied triumphs swell'd, The stranger-guest, the royal youth beheld : Grieved that a visitant so long should w^ait Unmark'd, unhonour'd, at a monarch's gate ; Instant he flew with hospitable haste, 25 And the new friend with courteous air embraced. ''Stranger ! whoe'er thou art, securely rest. Affianced in my faith, a friendly guest : Approach the dome, the social banquet share. And then the purpose of thy soul declare." 2,0 Thus affable and mild, the prince precedes, And to the dome the unknown celestial leads, MINERVA^ S DESCENT TO ITHACA 7 The spear receiving from her hand, he placed Against a column, fair with sculpture graced ; Where seemly ranged in peaceful order stood Ulysses' arms, now long disused to blood. He led the goddess to the sovereign seat, 5 Her feet supported with a stool of state ; (A purple carpet spread the pavement wide) Then drew his seat, familiar, to her side ; Far from the suitor-train, a brutal crowd. With insolence, and wine, elate and loud ; lo Where the free guest, unnoted, might relate, If haply conscious, of his father's fate. The golden ewer a maid obsequious brings, Replenish'd from the cool translucent springs ; With copious water the bright vase supplies is A silver laver,° of capacious size : They wash. The tables in fair order spread. They heap the glittering canisters with bi-ead : Viands of various kinds allure the taste, Of choicest sort and savour, rich repast ! 20 Delicious wines the attending herald brought ; The gold gave lustre to the purple draught. liUred with the vapour of the fragrant feast, In rush'd the suitors with voracious haste : Marshal'd in order due, to each a sewer° 25 Presents, to bathe his hands, a radiant ewer. Luxurious then they feast. Observant round. Gay stripling youths the brimming goblets crown'd. The rage of hunger quell'd, they all advance, And form to measured airs the mazy dance. 30 To Phemius° was consign'd the chorded lyre. Whose hand reluctant touch'd the warbhng wire : THE ODYSSEY Phemius, whose voice divine could sweetest sing High strains, responsive to the vocal string. Meanwhile, in whispers to his heavenly guest His indignation thus the prince express'd : "Indulge n\y rising grief, whilst these, my friend, s With song and dance the pompous revel end. Light is the dance, and doubly sweet the lays, When, for the dear delight, another pays. His treasured stores these cormorants consume. Whose bones, defrauded of a regal tomb lo And common turf, lie naked on the plain, Or doom'd to welter in the whelming main. Should he return, that troop so blithe and bold. With purple robes in\^Tought, and stiff ^\\\h gold, Precipitant° in fear, would wing their flight, 15 And curse their cumbrous pride's unvdekh^ weight. But, ah, I dream ! — the appointed hour is fled. And hope, too long with vain delusion fed. Deaf to the rimiour of fallacious fame, Gives to the roll of death his glorious name ! 20 With ^Tnial freedom let me now demand Thj' name, tlw lineage, and paternal land : Sincere, from whence began thy course, recite. And to what ship I owe the friendly freight ? Now first to me this ^isit dost thou deign, 25 Or number'd in my father's social train ? All who deserved his choice he made his own, And curious much to know, he far was known." ''JMy birth I boast (the blue-eyed \nrgin cries) From great Anchialus, renown'd and wise : 30 Mentes my name ; I rule the Taphian race. Whose bounds the deep circumfluent waves embrace : MINERVA'S DESCENT TO ITHACA 9 A duteous people, and industrious isle, To naval arts inured, and stormy toil. Freighted with iron from m}^ native land, I steer my voyage to the Brutian strand ; To gain by commerce, for the labour'd mass, $ A just proportion of refulgent brass. Far from j'our capital, my ship resides At Reithrus, and secure at anchor rides ; Where waving groves on airy Neion grow, Supremely tall, and shade the deeps below. lo Thence to revisit 3^our imperial dome, • An old hereditary guest I come : Your father's friend. Laertes° can relate Our faith unspotted, and its early date ; Who press'd vnih heart-corroding grief and years, 15 To the gay court a rural shed prefers. Where, sole of all his train, a matron sage Supports with homely food his drooping age ; With feeble steps from marshaling his vines Returning sad, when toilsome day decHnes. 20 With friendly speed, induced b}^ erring fame, To hail Ulysses' safe return I came : But still the frown of some celestial power With envious joy retards the blissful hour. Let not your soul be sunk in sad despair ; 25 He lives, he breathes this heavenly vital air. Among a savage race, whose shelfy bounds With ceaseless roar the foaming deep surrounds. The thoughts which roll within my ravish'd breast. To me, no seer, the inspiring gods suggest ; 30 Nor skiird, nor studious, with prophetic ej^e To judge the winged omens° of the sky. THE ODYSSEY Yet hear this certain speech, nor deem it vain ; Though adamantine bonds the chief restrain, The dire restraint his wisdom will defeat, And soon restore him to his regal seat. But, generous youth ! sincere and free declare, s Are you, of manlj^ growth, his royal heir ? For sure Ulysses in your look appears, The same his features, if the same his years. Such was that face, on which I dwelt with joy Ere Greece assembled stemm'd the tides to Troy ; lo But parting then for that detested shore, Our eyes, unhappy ! never greeted more." "To prove a genuine birth (the prince repUes) On female truth assenting faith rehes ; Thus manifest of right, I build my claim 15 Sure-founded on a fair maternal fame, Ulysses' son : but happier he, whom fate Hath placed beneath the storms which toss the great ! Happier the son whose hoary sire is bless'd With humble affluence, and domestic rest ! 20 Happier than I, to future empire born. But doom'd a father's wretched fate to mourn !" To whom, with aspect mild, the guest divine : "0 true descendant of a sceptred hne ! The gods, a glorious fate, from anguish free, 25 To chaste Penelope's° increase decree. But say, yon jovial troop so gail}^ dress'd. Is this a bridal or a friendly feast ? Or from their deed I rightlier may divine, Unseemly flo^m "\^ith insolence and \sdne ; 30 Unwelcome revelers, whose lawless joy Pains tlie sage ear. and hurts the sober eye ?" MINERVA'S DESCENT TO ITHACA 11 '^ Magnificence of old (the prince replied) Beneath our roof with virtue could reside ; Unblamed abundance crown'd the royal board, What time tliis dome revered her prudent lord ; Who now, so heaven decrees, is doom'd to mourn, 5 Bitter constraint ! erroneous and forlorn. Better the chief, on Ilion's hostile plain, Had fallen surrounded with his warlike train ; Or safe return'd, the race of glory pass'd, New to his friends' embrace, had breathed his last ! 10 Then grateful Greece' with streaming eyes would raise Historic marbles, to record his praise ; His praise, eternal on the faithful stone. Had with transmissive honour graced his son. Now snatch'd by harpies° to the dreary coast, 15 Sunk is the hero, and his glory lost : Vanished at once ! unheard of, and unknown ! And I his heir in misery alone. Nor for a dear lost father only flow The filial tears, but woe succeeds to woe : 20 To tempt the spouseless queen with amorous wiles, Resort the nobles from the neighbouring isles ; From Samos, circled with the Ionian main, Dulichium, and Zacynthus' sjdvan reign : Even with presumptuous hope her bed to ascend, 25 The lords of Ithaca their right pretend. She seems attentive to their pleaded vows, Her heart detesting what her ear allows ; They, vain expectants of the bridal hour. My stores in riotous expense devour, 30 In feast and dance the mirthful months employ And meditate my doom, to crown their joy." 12 THE ODYSSEY With tender pity touch'd, the goddess cried : "Soon ma}'- kind heaven a sure rehef provide, Soon may your sire discharge the vengeance due, And all your wrongs the proud oppressors rue ! Oh ! in that portal should the chief appear, 5 Each hand tremendous with a brazen spear, In radiant panopl}^ his limbs incased (For so of old \\\y father's court he graced, When social mirth unbent liis serious soul. O'er the full banquet, and the sprightly bowl :) lo He then from Ephyre, the fair domain Of Ilus, sprung from Jason's° royal strain. Measured a length of seas, a toilsome length, in vain. For voyaging to learn the direful art To taint with deadly drugs the barbed dart ; is Observant of the gods, and sternly just, Ilus refused to impart the baneful trust : With friendher zeal my father's soul was fired, The drugs he knew, and gave the boon desired. Appear'd he now ^\ith such heroic port, 20 As then conspicuous at the Taphian court ; Soon should yon boasters cease their haughty strife, Or each atone his guilty love -vsith life. But of his wish'd return the care resign ; Be future vengeance to the powers divine. 2$ My sentence hear : wiXh. stern distaste avow'd, To their owm districts drive the suitor-crowd : When next the morning warms the purple east, Convoke the peerage, and the gods attest ; The sorrows of your inmost soul relate ; 30 And form sure plans to save the sinking state. Should second love a pleasing flame inspire, MINERVA^ S DESCENT TO ITHACA 13 And the chaste queen connubial rites require ; Dismiss'd with honour, let her hence repair To great Icarius,° whose paternal care Will guide her passion, and reward her choice With wealthy dower, and bridal gifts of price. 5 Then let this dictate of my love prevail : Instant, to foreign realms prepare to sail. To learn your father's fortunes : fame may prove, Or omen'd voice (the messenger of Jove) Propitious to the search. Direct your toil 10 Through the wide ocean first to sandj^ Pyle ; Of Nestor, ° hoary sage, his doom demand : Then speed your voyage to the Spartan strand ; For young Atrides° to the Achaian coast Arrived the last of all the victor host. 15 If 3^et Ulysses views the light, forbear, Till the fleet hours restore the circling year : But if his soul hath wing'd the destined flight, Inhabitant of deep disastrous night ; Homeward with pious speed repass the main, 20 To the pale shade funereal rites ordain. Plant the fair column o'er the vacant grave, A hero's honours let the hero haA^e. With decent grief the royal dead deplored. For the chaste queen select an equal lord. 25 Then let revenge your daring mind employ, By fraud or force the suitor-train destroy, And, starting into manhood, scorn the boy. Hast thou not heard how young Orestes, fired With great revenge, immortal praise acquired ? 3a His \'irgin sword, ^gysthus' veins imbrued : The murderer fell, and blood atoned for blood. 14 THE ODYSSEY 0 greatly bless'd ^^^th every blooming grace ! With equal steps the paths of glor}' trace ; Join to that royal \^outh's your rival name, And shine eternal in the sphere of fame. — But my associates now vay stay deplore, 5 Impatient on the hoarse-resounding shore. Thou, heedful of advice, secure proceed ; My praise the precept is, be thine the deed." ''The counsel of m}^ friend (the youth rejoin'd) Imprints conviction on my grateful mind. lo So fathers speak (persuasive speech and mild) Their sage experience to the favourite child. But, since to part, for sweet refection due, The genial viands let my train renew ; And the rich pledge of phghted faith receive, is Worthy the heir of Ithaca to give." ''Defer the promised boon (the goddess cries, Celestial azure brightening in her eyes) And let me now regain the Reithrian port : From Temese return'd, your roj^al court 20 1 shall revisit ; and that pledge receive ; And gifts, memorial of our friendship, leave." Abrupt, with eagle-speed she cut the sky ; Instant invisible to mortal eye. Then first he recognised the ethereal guest ; 25 Wonder and joy alternate fire his breast ; Heroic thoughts, infused, his heart dilate : Revolving much his father's doubtful fate : At length, composed, he join'd the suitor-throng; Hush'd in attention to the warbled song. 30 His tender theme the charming lyrist chose, Minerva's anger, and the direful woes MINERVA'S DESCENT TO ITHACA 15 Which voyaging from Troy the victors bore, While storms vindictive intercept the shore. The shriUing airs the vaulted roof rebounds, Reflecting to the queen the silver sounds. With grief renew'd the weeping fair descends ; 5 Their sovereign's step a virgin train attends : A veil of richest texture wrought, she wears, And silent to the joyous hall repairs. There from the portal, with her mild command. Thus gently checks the minstrel's tuneful hand : 10 " Phemius ! let acts of gods and heroes old, What ancient bards in hall and bower have told, Attemper'd to the lyre, your voice employ ; Such the pleased ear will drink with silent jo5^ But oh ! forbear that dear disastrous name, 15 To sorrow sacred, and secure of fame : My bleeding bosom sickens at the sound, And every piercing note inflicts a wound." "Why, dearest object of my duteous love, (Rephed the prince) will j^ou the bard reprove ? 20 Oft, Jove's ethereal rays (resistless fire) The chanter's soul and raptured song inspire ; Instinct divine ! nor blame, severe, his choice, Warbling the Grecian woes with harp and voice : For novel lays attract our ravish'd ears ; 25 But old, the mind with inattention hears : Patient permit the sadly-pleasing strain ; Familiar now with grief, j^our tears refrain, And in the public woe forget your own ; You weep not for a perish'd lord, alone. 30 What Greeks, now wandering in the Stygian° gloom, With your Ulysses shared an equal doom ! 16 THE ODYSSEY Your widow'd hours, apart, with female toil And various labours of the loom, beguile ; There rule, from palace-cares remote and free : That care to man belongs, and most to me." ]\Iature beyond his years, the queen admires 5 His sage reply, and with her train retires. Then swelling sorrows burst their former bounds, With echoing grief afresh the dome resounds ; Till PaUas,° piteous of her plaintive cries, In slumber closed her silver-streaming eyes. 10 Meantime, rekindled at the roj^al charms. Tumultuous love each beating bosom warms ; Intemperate rage a wordy war began. But bold Telemachus assumed the man. "Instant (he cried) your female discord end, 15 Ye deedless boasters ! and the song attend ; Obey that sweet compulsion, nor profane With dissonance the smooth melodious strain. Pacific now prolong the jo\ial feast ; But when the dawn reveals the rosy east, 20 I to the peers assembled shall propose The firm resolve, I here to few disclose. No longer live the cankers of my court ; All to your several states Tvith speed resort ; Waste in vdXd riot v\-hat your land allows, 25 There pi}' the early feast, and late carouse. But if, to honour lost, 'tis still decreed For you my bowl shall flow, my flock shall bleed ; Judge and revenge my right, impartial Jove ! — By him and all the immortal thrones above, 30 (A sacred oath) each proud oppressor, slain. Shall with inglorious gore this marble stain ! " MINERVA'S DESCENT TO ITHACA 17 Awed by the prince, thus haughty, bold, and young, Rage gnaw'd the hp, and wonder chain'd the tongue. Silence at length the gay Antinous broke, Constrain'd a smile, and thus ambiguous spoke : "What god to your untutor'd youth affords s This headlong torrent of amazing words ? I\Iay Jove delay thy reign, and cumber late So bright a genius with the toils of state !" ''Those toils (Telemachus, serene, replies) Have charms, ^^ith all their weight, to allure the wdse. lo Fast by the throne obsequious fame resides, And wealth incessant rolls her golden tides. Nor let Antinous rage, if strong desire Of wealth and fame a youthful bosom fire : Elect by Jove his delegate of sway, is With jo3^ous pride the summons I'd obey. W'liene'er Ulysses roams the realm of night, Should factious power dispute my hneal right, Some other Greeks a fairer claim may plead ; To your pretence their title would precede. 20 At least, the sceptre lost, I still should reign Sole o'er my vassals, and domestic train." To this Eurymachus : "To heaven alone Refer the choice to fill the vacant throne. Your patrimonial stores in peace possess ; 25 Undoubted all your filial claim confess : Your private right should impious powder invade, The peers of Ithaca would arm in aid. But say, that stranger-guest who late withdrew. What and from whence ? his name and lineage shew. 30 His grave demeanour, and majestic grace. Speak him descended of no vulgar race : 18 THE ODYSSEY Did he some loan of ancient right require, Or come forerunner of j^our sceptred sire ? " ''0 son of Polybus ! (the prince rephes,) No more my sire will glad these longing ej^es : The queen's fond hope inventive rumour cheers, s Or vain diviners' dreams divert her fears. That stranger-guest the Taphian realm obeys, A realm defended with encircling seas. IMentes, an ever-honour'd name, of old High in Ulysses' social list enroll'd." lo Thus he, though conscious of the ethereal guest, Answer'd evasive of the sly request. Meantime the Xjvq rejoins the sprightly lay; Love-dittied airs and dance conclude the day. But when the star of eve, with golden light 15 Adorn'd the matron-brow of sable night ; The mirthful train dispersing quit the court, And to their several domes to rest resort. A towering structure to the palace join'd ; To this his steps the thoughtful prince inclined ; 20 In his pavilion there, to sleep repairs ; The lighted torch, the sage Emyclea bears : (Daughter of Ops, the just Pisenor's son. For twenty beeves by great Laertes won ; In ros}^ prime with charms attractive graced, 25 Honour'd by him, a gentle lord and chaste. With dear esteem : too wise, with jealous strife To taint the joys of sweet connubial life. Sole with Telemachus her service ends, A child she nursed him, and a man attends.) 30 Whilst to his couch himself the prince address'd, The duteous dame received the purple vest : MINERVA'S DESCENT TO ITHACA 19 The purple vest with decent care disposed, The silver ring she pull'd, the door reclosed ; The bolt, obedient to the silken cord, To the strong staple's inmost depth restored, Secured the valves. ° There, wi-apt in silent shade, 5 Pensive, the rules the goddess gave, he weigh'd ; Stretch' d on the downy fleece, no rest he knows, And in his raptured soul the vision glows. BOOK II ARGUMENT THE COUNCIL OF ITHACA Telemachus, in the assembly of the lords of Ithaca, oomplalns of the injustice done him by the suitors, and insists upon their depar- ture from his palace ; appealing to the princes, and exciting the people to declare against them. The suitors endeavour to justify their stay, at least till he shall send the queen to the court of Icarius her father ; which he refuses. There appears a prodigy of two eagles in the sky, which an augur expounds to the ruin of the suitors. Telemachus then demands a vessel to carry him to Pylos and Sparta, there to inquire of his father's fortunes. Pallas, in the shape of Mentor (an ancient friend of Ulysses), helps him to a ship, assists him in preparing necessaries for the voyage, and embarks with him that night ; which concludes the second day from the opening of the poem. The scene continues in the Palace of Ulj'sses, in Ithaca. Now reddening from the dawn the morning ray Glow'd in the front of heaven, and gave the day. The youtliful hero, '\;\ith returning Hght, Rose anxious from the inquietudes of night. A royal robe he wore with graceful pride, 5 A two-edged falchion threatened by his side, Embroider'd sandals glitter'd as he trod. And forth he moved, majestic as a god. Then by his heralds, restless of delay, To council calls the peers : the peers obey. lo 20 THE COUNCIL OF ITHACA 21 Soon as in solemn form the assembly sat, From his high dome himself descends in state. Bright in his hand a ponderous javelin shined; Two dogs, a faithful guard, attend behind ; Pallas with grace divine his form improves, 5 And gazing crowds admire him as he moves. His father's throne he fill'd : while distant stood The hoary peers, and aged wisdom bow'd. 'Twas silence all. At last ^gyptius spoke ; ^giyptius, by his age and sorrows broke : lo A length of days his soul with prudence crown'd, A length of days had bent him to the ground. His eldest hope° in arms to Ilion came. By great Ulysses taught the path to fame ; But (hapless j^outh !) the hideous Cyclops tore 15 His quivering limbs, and quaff'd his spouting gore. Three sons remain'd : to climb with haughty fires The royal bed, Eur^momus aspires ; The rest with duteous love his griefs assuage, And ease the sire of half the cares of age. • 20 Yet still his Antiphus he loves, he mourns. And as he stood, he spoke and wept by turns: "Since great Ulysses sought the Phrygian plains, Within these walls inglorious silence reigns. Sa}^ then, ye peers ! by vv^hose commands we meet ? 25 Why here once more in solemn council sit ? Ye young, ye old, the weighty cause disclose : Arrives some message of invading foes ? Or say, does high necessity of state Inspire some patriot, and demand debate ? 30 The present synod speaks its author wise ; Assist him, Jove, thou regent of the skies ! " 22 THE ODYSSEY He spoke. Telemachus mtli transport glows, Embraced the omen, and majestic rose; (His royal hand the imperial sceptre sway'd) Then thus, addressing to .'Egyptius, said : "Reverend old man ! lo, here confess'd he stands 5 By whom ye meet ; my grief your care demands. No story I unfold of public woes, Nor bear advices of impending foes : Peace the bless'd land, and joys incessant crown, Of all this happy realm, I grieve alone. 10 For my lost sire continual sorrows spring. The great, the good : your father and j^our king ! Yet more ; our house from its foundation bows, Our foes are powerful, and your sons the foes : Hither, unwelcome to the queen, they come ; 15 Wh}^ seek they not the rich Icarian dome ? If she must Vv-ed, from other hands require The dowry : is Telemachus her sire ? Yet through my court the noise of revel rings, And wastes the wise frugality of kings. 20 Scarce all ni}^ herds their luxury suffice ; Scarce all my wine their midnight hom's supplies. Safe in mj'- youth, in riot still the}'- grow. Nor in the helpless orphan dread a foe. But come it will, the time when manhood grants 25 More powerful advocates than vain complaints. Approach that hour ! unsufferable wrong Cries to the gods, and vengeance sleeps too long. Rise then, ye peers ! with virtuous anger rise. Your fame revere, but most the avenging skies ; 30 By all the deathless powers that reign above, By righteous Themis° and by thundering Jove, THE COUNCIL OF ITHACA 23 (Themis, who gives to councils, or denies Success ; and humbles, or confirms the wise) Rise in my aid ! suffice the tears that flow For my lost sire, nor add new woe to woe. If e'er he bore the sword to strengthen ill, 5 Or having power to wrong, betray'd the will, On me, on me your kindled wrath assuage, And bid the voice of lawless riot rage. If ruin to our roj^al race ye doom. Be you the spoilers, and our wealth consume. lo Then might we hope redress from juster laws, And raise all Ithaca to aid our cause : But while your sons commit the unpunish'd wrong, You make the arm of violence too strong." While thus he spoke, with rage and grief he frown'd, 15 And dash'd the imperial sceptre to the ground. The big round tear hung trembling in his eye ; The synod grieved, and gave a pitying sigh, Then silent sat — at length Antinous burns With haughty rage, and sternly thus returns : 20 ''0 insolence of youth ! whose tongue affords Such railing eloquence, and war of words. Studious thy country's worthies to defame, Thy erring voice displays thy mother's shame. Elusive of the bridal day, she gives 25 Fond hopes to all, and all with hopes deceives. Did not the sun, through heaven's wide azure roU'd, For three long years the royal fraud behold ! While she, laborious in delusion, spread The spacious loom, and mix'd the various thread ; 30 W^here as to life the wondrous figures rise, Thus spoke the inventive queen, with artful sighs : 24 THE ODYSSEY 'Tho' cold in death Ulysses breathes no more, Cease yet a while to urge the bridal hour ; Cease, till to great Laertes I bequeath A task of grief, his ornaments of death : Lest when the fates his royal ashes claim, 5 The Grecian matrons taint my spotless fame ; When he, whom living mighty realms obey'd, Shall vv'ant in death a shroud to grace his shade.' "Thus she : at once the generous train complies, Nor fraud mistrusts in virtue's fair disguise. lo The work she plied ; but, studious of dela}^. By night reversed the labours of the day. Wliile thrice the sun his annual journej^ made, The conscious lamp the midnight fraud survey'd, Unheard, unseen, three years her arts prevail ; 15 The fourth, her maid unfolds the amazing tale. We saw, as unperceived we took our stand, The backward labours of her faithless hand. Then urged, she perfects her illustrious toils ; A wondrous monument of female wiles ! 20 "But you, 0 peers ! and thou, 0 prince ! give ear: (I speak aloud, that every Greek maj^ hear) Dismiss the queen ; and if her sire approves, Let him espouse her to the peer she loves : Bid instant to prepare the bridal train, 25 Nor let a race of princes wait in vain. Though vni\i a grace di^dne her soul is bless'd, And all Minerva breathes within her breast. In wondrous arts than woman more renown'd. And more than woman with deep wisdom crown'd ; 30 Though Tyro nor Mycene match her name, Nor great Alcmena° (the proud boasts of fame) THE COUNCIL OF ITHACA 25 Yet thus by heaven adorn'd, by heaven's decree She shines with fatal excellence to thee : AVith thee, the bowl we drain, indulge the feast, Till righteous heaven reclaim her stubborn breast. What though from pole to pole resounds her name ! s The son's destruction waits the mother's fame : For till she leaves thy com-t, it is decreed. Thy bowl to empty, and thy flock to bleed." Wliile yet he speaks, Telemachus replies : ''Even nature starts, and what ye ask denies. lo Thus, shall I thus repay a mother's cares. Who gave me life, and nursed my infant years? While sad on foreign shores Ulysses treads, Or glides a ghost with un apparent shades; How to Icarius in the bridal hour is Shall I, by waste undone, refund the dower ? How from my father should I vengeance dread ; How would my mother curse my hated head ? And w^hile in wrath to vengeful fiends she cries, How from their hell would vengeful fiends arise ? 20 Abhorr'd by all, accursed my name would grow, The earth's disgrace, and human-kind my foe. If this displease, why urge ye here your stay ? Haste from the court, ye spoilers, haste away : Waste in wdld riot what your land allows, 25 There ply the early feast, and late carouse. But if, to honour lost, 'tis still decreed For you my bowl shall flow, my flocks shall bleed : Judge and assert my right, impartial Jove ! By him, and all the immortal host above, 30 (A sacred oath) if heaven the power supply, Vengeance I vow, and for your wrongs ye die." 26 THE ODYSSEY With that, two eagles from a mountain's height By Jove's conmiand direct their rapid flight ; Swift they descend, with wing to wing conjoin'd, Stretch their broad plumes, and float upon the wind. Above the assembled peers they wheel on high, 5 And clang their w^ngs, and hovering beat the sky. With ardent eyes the rival train they threat, And shrieking loud, denounce approaching fate. They cuff, they tear, their cheeks and neck they rend, And from their plumes huge drops of blood descend : lo Then sailing o'er the domes and towers, they fly Full toward the east, and mount into the sky. The wondering rivals gaze with cares oppress'd, And chilling horrors freeze in every breast. Till, big with knowledge of approaching woes, is The prince of augurs, ° Halitherses, rose : Prescient he view'd the aerial tracks, and drew A sure presage from ever^^ wing that flew. "Ye sons (he cried) of Ithaca, give ear, Hear all ! but chiefly you, 0 rivals ! hear. 20 Destruction sure o'er all your heads impends ; Ulysses comes, and death his steps attends. Nor to the great alone is death decreed ; We, and our guilty Ithaca, must bleed. Why cease we then the wrath of heaven to sta}' ? 25 Be humbled all, and lead, 3^e great ! the waj''. For lo ! my words no fancied woes relate : I speak from science, and the voice is fate. "When great Ulysses sought the Phrygian shores To shake with war proud Ihon's lofty towers, 30 Deeds then undone my faithful tongue foretold : Heaven seal'd my words, and you those deeds behold. THE COUNCIL OF ITHACA 27 I see (I cried) his woes, a countless train ; I see his friends o'erwhehii'd beneath the main ; How twice ten years from shore to shore he roams : Now twice ten years are past, and now he comes !" To whom Eurymachus : ''Fly, dotard, ^y ! 5 With thy wise dreams, and fables of the sky. Go, prophesy at home ; thy sons advise : Here thou art sage in vain — I better read the skies. Unnumber'd birds glide through the aerial way Vagrants of air, and unforeboding stray. 10 Cold in the tomb, or in the deeps below, Ulysses lies : O wert thou laid as low^ ! Then would that busy head no broils suggest. Nor fire to rage Telemachus's breast. From him some bribe thj^ venal tongue requires, 15 And interest, not the god, th}^ voice inspires. His guideless youth, if thy experienced age Mislead fallacious into idle rage. Vengeance deserved thy malice shall repress. And but augment the wrongs thou wouldst redress. 20 Telemachus may bid the queen repair To great Icarius, w^hose paternal care Will guide her passion, and reward her choice With w^ealthy dower, and bridal gifts of price. Till she retires, determined we remain, 25 And both the prince and augur threat in vain : His pride of words, and thy wild dream of fate, Move not the brave, or only move their hate. Threat on, 0 prince ! elude the bridal day. Threat on, till all thy stores in waste decay. 30 True, Greece affords a train of lovely dames. In wealth and beauty worthy of our flames : 28 THE ODYSSEY But never from this nobler suit we cease ; For wealth and beauty less than virtue please." To whom the youth : "Since then in vain I tell M}'- numerous woes, in silence let them dwell. But heaven, and all the Greeks, have heard my wrongs : 5 To heaven, and all the Greeks, redress belongs. Yet this I ask — nor be it ask'd in vain — A bark to waft me o'er the rolling main ; The realms of P3de and Sparta to explore. And seek mj- royal sire from shore to shore : 10 If, or to fame his doubtful fate be known, Or to be learn'd from oracles alone ? If yet he lives, mth patience I forbear Till the fleet hours restore the circling year : But if ah-eady wandering in the train 15 Of empt}^ shades, I measure back the main, Plant the fair column o'er the mighty dead, And jdeld his consort to the nuptial bed." He ceased ; and while abash'd the peers attend, Mentor arose, Ulysses' faitliful friend : 20 [When fierce in arms he sought the scenes of war, "My friend (he cried) my palace be thy care ; Years roll'd on j'-ears my godlike sire decay, Guard thou his age, and his behests obey."] Stern as he rose, he cast his eyes around, 25 That flash'd with rage : and, as he spoke, he frown'd : "0 never, never more let king be just, Be mild in power, or faithful to his trust ! Let tyrants govern with an iron rod. Oppress, destroy, and be the scourge of God ; 30 Since he who hke a father held his reign. So soon forgot, was just and mild in vain ! THE COUNCIL OF ITHACA 29 True, while 1113' friend is grieved, his griefs I share ; Yet now the rivals are my smallest care : They, for the mighty mischiefs they devise, Ere long shall pay — their forfeit lives the price. But against you, ye Greeks ! ye coward train, 5 Gods ! how my soul is moved with just disdain ? Dumb ye all stand, and not one tongue affords His injured prince the little aid of words." While yet he spoke, Leocritus rejoin 'd : *'0 pride of words, and arrogance of mind ! 10 Wouldst thou to rise in arms the Greeks ad\ise? Join all your powers ! in arms, ye Greeks, arise ! Yet would your powers in vain our strength oppose ; The valiant few^ o'ermatch a host of foes. Should great Ulysses stern appear in arms, 15 While the bowl circles, and the banquet warms ; Though to his breast his spouse with transport flies, Torn from her breast, that hour, UWsses dies. But hence retreating to your domes repair ; To arm the vessel. Mentor ! be thy care, 20 And, Halitherses ! thine : be each his friend ; Ye loved the father : go, the son attend. But yet, I trust the boaster means to stay Safe in the court, nor tempt the waterj^ way." Then wdth a rushing sound, the assembly bend, 25 Diverse their steps : the rival rout ascend The royal dome; while sad the prince explores The neighbouring main, and sorrowing treads the shores. There, as the waters o'er his hands he shed. The royal suppliant to Minerva pray'd : 30 ''0 goddess ! who descending from the skies ^^ouchsafed thy presence to my wondering eyes ; 30 THE ODYSSEY By whose commands the raging deeps I trace, And seek my sire through storms and rolUng seas ! Hear from thy heavens above, 0 warrior-maid ! - Descend once more, propitious to my aid. Without thy presence, vain is thy command ; 5 Greece, and the rival train, thy voice withstand.'' Indulgent to his praj^er, the goddess took Sage Mentor's form, and thus like IMentor spoke : ''0 prince ! in early youth divinely wise, Born, the Ulysses of thy age to rise ! lo If to the son the father's worth descends. O'er the wide waves success thy ways attends ; To tread the walks of death he stood prepared, And what he greatly thought, he nobh^ dared. Were not wise sons descendant of the wise, 15 And did not heroes from brave heroes rise ; Vain were mj^ hopes : few sons attain the praise Of their great sires, and most their sires disgrace. But since thy veins paternal vu'tue fires. And all Penelope th}^ soul inspires, 20 Go, and succeed ! the rivals' aims despise ; For never, never, wicked man was wise. Blind they rejoice, though now, even now they fall ; Death hastes amain : one hour o'erwhelms them all. And lo, with speed we plough the watery way ; 25 My power shall guard thee, and ni}^ hand convey : The winged vessel studious I prepare, Through seas and realms companion of thy care. Thou to the court ascend ; and to the shores, When night advances, bear the naval stores : 30 Bread, that decaying man with strength supplies. And generous wine, wiiich thoughtful sorrow flies. THE COUNCIL OF ITHACA 31 Meanwhile the mariners by my command Shall speed aboard, a valiant chosen band. Wide o'er the bay, by vessel vessel rides ; The best I choose to waft thee o'er the tides." She spoke : to his high dome the prince returns, 5 And as he moves with royal anguish mourns. 'Twas riot all, among the lawless train ; Boar bled by boar, and goat by goat la}^ slain. Arrived, his hand the gay Antinous press'd. And thus deriding, with a smile address 'd : ic "Grieve not, 0 daring prince ! that noble heart ; 111 suits gay youth, the stern heroic part. Indulge the genial hour, unbend thy soul. Leave thought to age, and drain the flowing bowl. Studious to ease th}^ grief, our care provides 15 The bark, to waft thee o'er the swelling tides." "Is this (returns the prince) for mirth a time? When lawless gluttons riot, mirth's a crime ; The luscious wines, dishonour'd, lose their taste ; The song is noise, and impious is the feast. 20 Suffice it to have spent with swift decay The wealth of kings, and made my youth a prey. But now the wise instructions of the sage, And manly thoughts inspired by manly age. Teach me to seek redress for all my woe, 25 Here, or in Pyle — in Pyle, or here, your foe. Deny your vessels, j^e deny in vain ; A private voyager I pass the main. Free breathe the "s\dnds, and free the billows flow, And where on earth I live, I Uve your foe.'' 30 He spoke and frown'd, nor longer deign'd to staj'. Sternly his hand withdrew, and strode away. 32 THE ODYSSEY Meantime, o'er all the dome, they quaff, they feast, Derisive taunts were spread from guest to guest. And each in jo\'ial mood his mate address'd. ''Tremble ye not, 0 friends ! and coward fly, Doom'd by the stern Telemachus to die ? " 5 To Pyle or Sparta to demand supplies, Big with revenge, the mighty warrior flies : Or comes from EphjTe Tsith poisons fraught. And kills us all in one tremendous draught." "Or who cafi sa}^ (his gamesome mate rephes) lo But while the dangers of the deeps he tries, He, Uke his sire, may sinlv deprived of breath. And punish us unkindly by liis death ? What mighty labours would he then create, To seize his treasures, and divide his state, 15 The royal palace to the queen conve.y, Or him she blesses in the bridal day !" ^Meantime the lofty rooms the prince surveys. Where lay the treasures of the Ithacan race : Here ruddy brass and gold refulgent blazed ; 20 There polish'd chests embroidered vestures graced ; Here jars of oil breathed forth a rich perfume ; There casks of ^^ne in rows adorn 'd the dome, (Pure flavorous° wine, b^^ gods in bounty given. And worthy to exalt the feasts of heaven.) 25 Untouched they stood, till, his long labours o'er. The great Uh'sses reach' d his native shore. A double strength of bars secured the gates : * Fast bj^ the door the mse Eurj^clea waits ; Euryclea, who, great Ops ! thy lineage shared, 30 And watch'd all mght, all day, a faithful guard : To whom the prince : "0 thou, whose guardian care THE COUNCIL OF ITHACA 33 Nursed the most wretched king that breathes the air, Untouch'd and sacred may these vessels stand Till great Ulysses views his native land. But by thy care twelve urns of wine be fill'd, Next these in worth, and firm those urns be seal'd : 5 And twice ten measures of the choicest flour Prepared, ere yet descends the evening hour. For when the favouring shades of night arise, And peaceful slumbers close my mother's eyes. Me from our coast shall spreading sails convey, ic To seek Ulj^sses through the w^atery way." While yet he spoke, she fill'd the walls w4th cries, And tears ran trickhng from her aged eyes. "0 whither, whither flies my son?" she cried, ''To realms that rocks and roaring seas divide? 15 In foreign lands thy father's days decay'd, And foreign lands contain the mighty dead. The watery way ill-fated if thou try, All, all must perish, and by fraud you die ! Then stay, my child : storms beat, and rolls the main ; 20 0 beat those storms, and roll the seas in vain !" "Far hence (replied the prince) thj^ fears be driven; Heaven calls me forth; these counsels are of heaven. But by the powers that hate the perjured, swear To keep my voyage from the royal ear, 25 Nor uncompell'd the dangerous truth betray. Till twice six times descends the lamp of day : Lest the sad tale a mother's life impair. And grief destroy what time awhile would spare." Thus he. The matron with uplifted eyes 30 Attests the all-seeing sovereign of the skies. Then studious she prepares the choicest flour, 34 THE ODYSSEY The strength of wheat, and wines an ample store. While to the rival train the prince returns, The martial goddess with impatience burns ; Like thee, Telemachus, in voice and size, With speed divine from street to street she flies, 5 She bids the mariners prepared to stand, When night descends, embodied on the strand. Then to Xoemon swift she runs, she flies. And asks a bark : the chief a bark supplies. And now, declining with his sloping wheels, lo Down sunk the sun behind the western hills. The goddess shoved the vessel from the shores, And stow'd within its womb the naval stores. Full in the openings of the spacious main It rides : and now descends the sailor-train. is Next, to the court, impatient of delay. With rapid step the goddess urged her way : There every eye with slumbrous chains she bound And dash'd the flowing goblet to the ground. Drowsy they rose, w^ith heavy fumes oppress'd, 20 Reel'd from the palace, and retired to rest. Then thus, in ^Mentor's reverend form array'd, Spoke to Telemachus the martial maid : "Lo ! on the seas prepared the vessel stands. The impatient mariner thy speed demands." 25 Swift as she spoke, with rapid pace she leads ; The footsteps of the deity he treads. Swift to the shore they move : along the strand The ready vessel rides, the sailors ready stand. He bids them bring their stores ; the attending train 30 Load the tall bark, and launch into the main. The prince and goddess to the stern ascend ; THE COUNCIL OF ITHACA ' 35 To the strong stroke at once the rowers bend. Full from the west she bids fresh breezes blow ; The sable billows foam and roar below. The chief his orders gives ; the obedient band With due observance wait the chief's command ; c With speed the mast they rear, with speed unbind The spacious sheet, and stretch it to the wind. High o'er the roaring waves the spreading sails Bow the tall mast, and swell before the gales ; The crooked keel the parting surge divides, lo And to the stern retreating roll the tides. And now they ship their oars, and crown with wine The holy goblet to the powers divine : Imploring all the gods that reign above, But chief the blue-eyed progeny of Jove. 15 Thus all the night they stem the liquid way. And end their voyage with the morning ray. BOOK III ARGUMENT THE INTERVIEW OF TELEMACHUS AND NESTOR ^elemachus, guided by Pallas in the shape of Mentor, arrives in the morning at Pylos, where Nestor and his sons are sacrificing on the sea-shore to Neptune. Telemachus declares the occasion of his coming ; and Nestor relates what passed in their return from Troj% how their fleets were separated, and he never since heard of Ulysses. The discourse concerning the death of Agamemnon, the revenge of Orestes, and the injuries of the suitors. Nestor advises him to go to Sparta, and inquire further of Menelaiis. The sacrifice ending •udth the night, Minerva vanishes from them in the form of an eagle. Telemachus is lodged in the palace. The next morning they sacrifice a bullock to Minerva, and Telemachus proceeds on his journey to Sparta, attended by Pisistratus. The scene lies on the sea-shore of Pylos. The sacred sun, above the waters raised, Through heaven's eternal brazen portals blazed ; And -wdde o'er earth diffused his cheering ray, To gods and men to give the golden day. Now on the coast of Pyle the vessel falls, 5 Before old Neleus' venerable walls. There, suppliant to the monarch of the flood, At nine green theatres the Pyhans stood ; Each held five hundi-ed (a deputed train) 36 THE INTERVIEW OF TELEMACHUS AND NESTOR 37 At each, nine oxen on the sand lay slain. They taste the entrails, and the altars load With smoking thighs, an offering to the god. Full for the port the Ithacensians stand, And furl their sails, and issue on the land. S Telemachus already press'd the shore ; Not first ; the Power° of wisdom march'd before, And ere the sacrificing throng he join'd, Admonish'd thus his vrell-attending mind : "Proceed, m^^ son ! this youthful shame expel; lo An honest business never blush to tell. To learn what fates thy ^\Tetched sire detain, We pass'd the wide immeasurable main. Meet then the senior, far renown'd for sense, With reverend awe, but decent confidence : 15 Urge him with truth to frame his fair replies ; And sure he will ; for wisdom never lies." "0 tell me. Mentor ! tell me, faithful guide, (The youth with prudent modestj^ replied) How shall I meet, or how accost the sage, 20 Unskill'd in speech, nor yet mature of age ? Awful the approach, and hard the task appears, To question wisely men of riper years." To whom the martial goddess thus rejoin'd : "Search for some thoughts thy own suggesting mind ; 25 And others, dictated by heavenly power, Shall rise spontaneous in the needful hour : For nought unprosperous shall thy ways attend. Born with good omens, and with heaven thy friend." She spoke, and led the way with swiftest speed : 30 As swift the youth pursued the way she led ; And join'd the band before the sacred fire. 38 THE ODYSSEY AMiere sat, encompass'd with his sons, the sire. The youth of Pjdos, some on pointed wood Transfix'd the fragments, some prepared the food. In friendly throngs they gather, to embrace Their unknown guests, and at the banquet place. 5 Pisistratus was first to grasp their hands. And spread soft hides upon the yellow sands ; Along the shore the illustrious pair he led, Where Xestor sat ^^-ith youthful Thrasymed. To each a portion of the feast he bore, 10 And held a golden goblet foaming o'er ; Then first approaching to the elder guest. The latent goddess in these words address'd: ''Whoe'er thou art, whom fortune brings to keep These rites of Xeptune, monarch of the deep, 15 Thee first it fits, 0 stranger ! to prepare The due libation and the solemn praj^er ; Then gwe thy friend to shed the sacred wine : Though much thy younger, and his years like mine, He too, I deem, implores the powers divine : 20 For all mankind alike require their grace. All born to want ; a miserable race !" He spoke, and to her hand preferr'd the bowl ; A secret pleasure touch'd Athena's° soul, To see the preference due to sacred age 25 Regarded ever by the just and sage. Of ocean's king she then implores the grace ''0 thou ! whose arms this ample globe embrace, Fulfil our wish, and let thy glory shine On Nestor first, and Xestor's royal line ; 30 Next grant the Pylian states their just desires, Pleased with their hecatomb's ascending fires ; THE INTERVIEW OF TELEMACHUS AND NESTOR- 39 Last, deign Telemachus and me to bless, And crown our voyage with desired success." Thus she ; and having paid the rite divine, Gave to Ulysses' son the rosy wine. Suppliant he pray'd. And now the victims dress'd 5 They draw, divide, and celebrate the feast. The banquet done, the narrative old man, Thus mild, the pleasing conference began : "Now, gentle guests ! the genial banquet o'er, It fits to ask ye, what your native shore, ic And whence your race ? on what adventure, say, Thus far ye wander through the watery way ? Relate, if business, or the thirst of gain, Engage your journey o'er the pathless main : Where savage pirates seek through seas unknown 15 The lives of others, venturous of their own." Urged by the precepts by the goddess given, And fill'd with confidence infused from heaven, The youth, whom Pallas destined to be wise And famed among the sons of men, replies : 20 "Inquirest thou, father ! from what coast we came? (O grace and glory of the Grecian name !) From where high Ithaca o'erlooks the floods, Brown with o'er-arching shades and pendent woods. Us to these shores our filial duty draws, 25 A private sorrow, not a public cause. My sire I seek, where'er the voice of fame Has told the glories of his noble name, The great Ulysses ; famed from shore to shore For valour much, fOr hardy suffering more. 3c Long time with thee before proud Ilion's° wall In arms he fought ; with thee beheld her fall. 40 THE ODYSSEY Of all the chiefs, this hero's fate alone Has Jove reserved, unheard of, and unkno^vn ; Whether in fields by hostile fury slain. Or sunk by tempests in the gulfy main ? Of this to learn, oppress'd wiih tender fears, 5 Lo, at thy knee his suppliant son appears. If, or thy certain eye, or cui'ious ear. Have learnt his fate, the whole dark storj^ clear : And oh ! whate'er heaven destined to betide, Let neither flattery smooth, nor pit}^ hide, ic Prepared I stand : he was but born to try The lot of man ; to suffer, and to die. 0 then, if ever through the ten j^ears' war The wise, the good Ulysses claim'd thy care ; If e'er he join'd thy council, or thy sword, 15 True in his deed, and constant to his word ; Far as thy mind through backward time can see. Search all thy stores of faithful memory : 'Tis sacred truth I ask, and ask of thee." To him experienced Xestor thus rejoin'd ; 20 '•'0 friend ! what sorrows dost thou bring to mind ! Shall I the long, laborious, scene re\4ew, And open all the wounds of Greece anew ? ^liat toils by sea ! where dark in quest of prey Dauntless we roved ; Achilles° led the way ; 25 What toils by land ! where mixed in fatal fight Such numbers fell, such heroes sunk to night : There Ajax great, Achilles there the brave, There vnse Patroclus, fill an early grave : There too my son — ah ! once my best deUght, 30 Once swift of foot, and terrible in fight. In whom stern courage with soft virtue join'd, THE INTERVIEW OF TELEMACHUS AND NESTOR 41 A faultless body, and a blameless mind : Antilochus — what more can I relate ? How trace the tedious series of our fate ? Not added years on years my task could close, The long historian of my country's woes : 5 Back to thy native islands might'st thou sail, And leave half -heard the melancholy tale. Nine painful years on that detested shore, What stratagems w^e form'd, what toils we bore ! Still labouring on, till scarce at last we found lo Great Jove propitious, and our conquest crown'd. Far o'er the rest thy mighty father shined. In wit, in prudence, and in force of mind. Art thou the son of that illustrious sire ? With joy I grasp thee, and with love admire. 15 So like your voices, and your words so wise, Who finds thee younger must consult his eyes. Thy sire and I were one nor varied aught In public sentence, or in private thought ; Alike to council or the assembly came, 20 With equal souls, and sentiments the same. But when (by ^visdom won) proud Ihon burn'd, And in their ships the conquering Greeks return'd ; 'Twas God's high will the victors to divide. And turn the event, confounding human pride : 25 Some he destroy'd, some scatter'd as the dust ; (Not all were prudent, and not all were just) Then Discord, ° sent by Pallas from above. Stern daughter of the great avenger Jove, The brother-kings inspired with fell debate ; 30 Who call'd to council all the Achaian state. But caird untimely (not the sacred rite 42 THE ODYSSEY Observed, nor heedful of the setting Hght, Nor herald sworn the session to proclaim :) Sour with debauch, a reeling tribe thej^ came. To these the cause of meeting thej^ explain, And Menelaiis moves to cross the main ; 5 Not so the king of men : he w^ill'd to stay ; The sacred rites and hecatombs to pay, And calm IMinerva's wrath. Oh, blind to fate ! The gods not lightly change their love, or hate. With ireful taunts each other they oppose, lo Till in loud tumult all the Greeks arose. Now different counsels everj^ breast divide, Each burns with rancour to the adverse side : The unquiet night strange projects entertain'd ; (So Jove, that urged us to our fate, ordain'd.) 15 We with the rising morn our ships unmoor'd, And brought our captives and our stores aboard ; But half the people with respect obey'd The king of men, and at his bidding stay'd. Now on the wings of winds our course we keep, 20 (For God had smooth'd the waters of the deep) For Tenedos we spread our eager oars, There land, and pay due victims to the powers : To bless our safe return we join in prayer, But angry Jove dispersed our vows in air, 25 And raised new discord. Then (so heaven decreed) Ulysses first and Nestor disagreed : Wise as he was, by various counsels sway'd, He there, though late, to please the monarch, staj^'d. But I, determined, stem the foamy floods, 30 Warn'd of the coming fur}^ of the gods. With us, Tydides° fear'd, and urged his haste : THE INTERVIEW OF TELEMACHUS AND NESTOR 43 And ]Menelaiis came, but came the last. He join'd our vessels in the Lesbian bay, While 3^et we doubted of our watery way ; If to the right to urge the pilot's toil, (The safer road) beside the Psyrian isle ; 5 Or the straight course to rock}^ Chios plough. And anchor under Mimas' shaggy brow. We sought direction of the power divine: The god propitious gave the guiding sign ; Through the mid seas he bid our navy steer, 10 And in Eubcea shun the woes we fear. The whistling winds already waked the sky ; Before the whistling winds the vessels fly, With rapid swiftness cut the liquid way, And reach Gerestus at the point of day. 15 There hecatombs of bulls, to Neptune slain. High-flaming please the monarch of the main. The fourth day shone, when all their labours o'er Tydides' vessels touch'd the wish'd-for shore : But I to Pylos scud before the gales, 20 The god still breathing on my swelling sails ; Separate from all, I safely landed here ; Their fates or fortunes never reach'd my ear. Yet what I learn'd, attend ; as here I sat. And ask'd each voyager each hero's fate ; 25 Curious to know, and willing to relate. ''Safe reach'd the Myrmidons° their native land, Beneath Achilles' warlike son's° command. Those, whom the heir of great Apollo's° art. Brave Phiioctetes, taught to wing the dart ; 30 And those whom Idomen from lUon's plain Had led, securely cross'd the dreadful main. 44 THE ODYSSEY How Agamemnon touch'd his Argive coast, And how his life by fraud and force he lost, And how the murderer paid his forfeit breath ; What lands so distant from that scene of death But trembling heard the fame ? and, heard, admire s How well the son appeased his slaughtered sire ! Even to the unhapp}', that unjustl}' bleed. Heaven gives posterity, to avenge the deed. So fell ^gysthus ; and may'st thou, my friend, (On whom the ^drtues of thy sire descend) lo Make future times thy equal act adore. And be what brave Orestes was before !" The prudent youth replied : "0 thou, the grace And lasting glor}^ of the Grecian race ! Just was the vengeance, and to latest days 15 Shall long posterity resound the praise. Some god this arm with equal prowess bless ! And the proud suitors shall its force confess : Injurious men ! who while my soul is sore Of fresh affronts, are meditating more. 20 But heaven denies this honour to my hand. Nor shall my father repossess the land : The father's fortune never to return. And the sad son's to suffer and to mourn !" Thus he ; and Nestor took the word : "My son, 25 Is it then true, as distant rumours run, That crowds of rivals for thy mother's charms Thy palace fill with insults and alarms ? Ssbv, is the fault, through tame submission, thine ? Or leagued against thee, do thy people join, 30 Moved by some oracle, or voice divine ? And yet who knows, but ripening lies in fate THE INTERVIEW OF TELEMACHUS AND NESTOR 45 An hour of vengeance for the afflicted state ; When great Ulysses shall suppress these harms, Ulysses singly, or all Greece in arms ? But if Athena, war's triumphant maid, The happy son will, as the father, aid, S (Whose fame and safety was her constant care. In every danger and in every war : Never on man did heavenly favour shine With rays so strong, distinguish'd, and divine. As those with which Minerva mark'd thy sire) lo So might she love thee, so thy soul inspire ! Soon should their hopes in humble dust be laid, And long oblivion of the bridal bed." '^4h ! no such hope (the prince with sighs replies) Can touch my breast ; that blessing heaven denies : 15 Even by celcvstial favour were it given, Fortune or fate would cross the will of heaven." ''What words are these, and what imprudence thine? (Thus interposed the martial maid divine) Forgetful youth ! but know, the power above 20 With ease can save each object of his love; Wide as his will, extends his boundless grace ; Nor lost in time, nor circumscribed by place. Happier his lot, who, many sorrows past, Long labouring gains his natal shore at last ; 25 Than who, too speedy, hastes to end his life By some stern ruffian, or adulterous wife. Death only is the lot which none can miss, And all is possible to heaven, but this. The best, the dearest favourite of the sky 3a Must taste that cup, for man is born to die." Thus check'd, replied Ulysses' prudent heir : 46 THE ODYSSEY '']\Ientor, no more — the mournful thought forbear; For he no more must draw his country's breath. Ah'eady snatch'd hy fate, and the black doom of death ! Pass we to other subjects ; and engage On themes remote the venerable sage : 5 (Who tlmce has seen the perishable kind Of men decaj-, and through three ages shined, Like gods majestic, and like gods in mind.) For much he knows, and just conclusions draws From various precedents, and various laws. lo 0 son of Neleus ! a^\'ful Xestor, tell How he, the mighty Agamemnon, fell ; By what strange fraud iEgysthus wrought, relate, (By force he could not) such a hero's fate. Lived Menelalis not in Greece ? or where 15 Was then the martial brother's pious care ? Condemn'd perhaps some foreign shore to tread ; Or sure .Egysthus had not dared the deed." To whom the full of da3^s : "Illustrious youth. Attend (though partly thou hast guess'd) the truth : 20 For had the martial Menelaiis found The ruffian breathing yet on Argive ground ; Nor earth had hid his carcase from the skies, Nor Grecian ^drgins shriek'd his obsequies. But fowls obscene dismember'd his remains, 25 And dogs had torn him on the naked plains. While us the works of bloody J\Lars° employ'd, The wanton youth inglorious peace enjoy'd ; He, stretch'd at ease in Argos' calm recess, (Whose stately steeds luxuriant pastures bless) 30 With flatter3^'s insinuating art Soothed the frail queen,° and poison'd all her heart. THE INTERVIEW OF TELEMACHUS AND NESTOR 47 At first with worthy shame and decent pride The royal dame his lawless suit denied. For virtue's image yet possess'd her mind, Taught by a master of the tuneful kind : Atrides, parting for the Trojan war, Consign'd the j^outhful consort to his care. True to his charge, the bard preserved her long In honour's limits ; such the power of song. But when the gods these objects of their hate Dragg'd to destruction, by the links of fate ; ic The bard they banish'd from his native soil, And left all helpless in a desert isle : There he, the sweetest of the sacred train. Sung dying to the rocks, but sung in vain. Then virtue was no more ; her guard away, 15 She fell, to lust a voluntaiy pre}^ Even to the temple stalk'd the adulterous spouse, With impious thanks, and mockery of vows. With images, with garments, and with gold ; And odorous fumes from, loaded altars roU'd. 20 ''Meantime from flaming Troy we cut the way With Menelaiis, through the curling sea. But when to Sunium's sacred point we came, Crown'd with the temple of the Athenian dame ; Atrides' pilot, Phrontes, there expired ; 25 (Phrontes, of all the sons of men admired° To steer the bounding bark with steady toil, When the storm thickens, and the billows boil) While yet he exercised the steerman's art, Apollo touch'd him with his gentle dart ; 30 Even with the rudder in his hand he fell. To \)'dy whose honours to the shades of hell, 48 THE ODYSSEY We check'd our haste, by pious office bound, And laid our old companion in the ground. And now the rites discharged, our course we keep Far on the gloomy bosom of the deep : Soon as ]\Iala?a's misty tops arise, 5 Sudden the Thunderer blackens all the skies, And the wands vrliistle, and the surges roll Mountains on mountains, and obscure the pole. The tempest scatters, and divides our fleet ; Part, the storm urges on the coast of Crete, lo Where, winding round the rich Cydonian plain. The streams of Jardan issue to the main. There stands a rock, high, eminent, and steep, Whose shaggy brow o'erhangs the shady deep, And views Gortjma on the western side ; 15 On this rough Auster° drove the impetuous tide : With broken force the billows roll'd away. And heaved the fleet into the neighbouring bay ; Thus saved from death, they gain'd the Phsestan shores, With shatter'd vessels, and disabled oars : 20 But five tall barks the winds and waters toss'd, Far from their fellows, on the Eg\^3tian coast. There wander'd Z^Ienelaiis through foreign shores, Amassing gold, and gathering naval stores ; While cursed .Egysthus the detested deed 25 By fraud fulfill'd, and his great brother bled. Seven years the traitor rich IMj^cen^ sway'd. And his stern rule the groaning land obey'd ; The eighth, from Athens to his realm restored, Orestes brandish'd the revenging sword, 30 Slew the dire pair, and gave to funeral flame The vile assassin and adulterous dame. THE INTERVIEW OF TELEMACHUS AND NESTOR 49 That day, ere yet the bloody triumphs cease, Return'd Atrides to the coast of Greece, And safe to Argos^ port his navy brought, With gifts of price, and ponderous treasure fraught. Hence warn'd, my son, beware ! nor idly stand 5 Too long a stranger to thy native land ; Lest heedless absence wear thy wealth away. While lawless feasters in thy palace sway ; Perhaps may seize thy realm, and share the spoil ; And thou return, with disappointed toil, 10 From th}^ vain journey, to a rifled isle. Howe'er, my friend, indulge one labour more, And seek Atrides en the Spartan shore. He, wandering long, a wider circle made, And manj^-languaged nations has survey'd ; 15 • And measured tracks unknown to other ships, Amid the monstrous wonders of the deeps : (A length of ocean and unbounded sky. Which scarce the sea-fowl in a year o'erfly.) Go then : to Sparta take the watery way, 20 Thy ship and sailors but for orders stay ; Or if bj^ land thou choose thy course to bend, My steeds, my chariots, and my sons attend : Thee to Atrides they shall safe convey. Guides of thy road, companions of thj' way. 25 Urge him with truth to frame his free replies ; And sure he will ; for Menelaiis is wise." Thus while he speaks, the ruddy sun descends, And twilight grey her evening shade extends. Then thus the blue-eyed maid° : ''0 full of days ! 3° Wise are thy words, and just are all thy ways. Now immolate the tongues, and mix the wine, 50 THE ODYSSEY Sacred to Neptune and the powers divine. The lamp of day is quench'd beneath the deep, And soft approach the balm}^ hours of sleep : Nor fits it to prolong the heavenly feast, Timeless, indecent, but retire to rest." ■, , 5 So spake Jove's daughter, the celestial maid : The sober train attended and obey'd. The sacred heralds on their hands around Pour'd the full urns ; the youths the goblets crown'd : From bowl to bowl the holy beverage flows ; lo While to the final sacrifice they rose. The tongues they cast upon the fragrant flame, And pour, abov^e, the consecrated stream. And now, their thirst by copious draughts allay'd, The youthful hero and the Athenian maid 15 Propose departure from the finished rite. And in their hollow bark to pass the night . But this the hospitable sage denied : ''Forbid it, Jove ! and all the gods ! (he cried) Thus from my walls the much-loved son to send 2c Of such a hero, and of such a friend I Me, as some need}^ peasant, would ye leave, Whom heaven denies the blessing to relieve ? Me would you leave, who boast imperial sway. When beds of royal state invite your stay ? 25 No — long as life this mortal shall inspire. Or as my children imitate their sire, Here shall the wandering stranger find his home. And hospitable rites adorn the dome." ''Well hast thou spoke (the blue-ej^ed maid replies), 30 Beloved old man ! benevolent, as wise. Be the kind dictates of thy heart obey'd, THE INTERVIEW OF TELEMACHUS AND NESTOR 51 And let thy words Telemachus persuade : He to thy palace shall thy steps pursue ; I to the ship, to give the orders due, Prescribe directions, and confirm the crew : For I alone sustain their naval cares, = Who boast experience from thesi^ silver hairs; All youths the rest, whom to this journey move Like years, like tempers, and their prince's love. There in the vessel I shall pass the night : And soon as morning paints the fields of light, lo I go to challenge from the Caucons bold A debt, contracted in the days of old. But this thy guest, received with friendly care. Let thy strong coursers swift to Sparta bear ; Prepare thy chariot at the dawn of day, 15 And be thy son companion of his way." Then turning with the word, Minerva flies. And soars an eagle through the liciuid skies : Vision divine ! the throng'd spectators gaze In hoh^ wonder fix'd, and still amaze. 20 But chief the reverend sage admired° ; he took The hand of young Telemachus, and spoke : ^'0 happy youth ! and favour'd of the skies. Distinguished care of guardian deities ! Whose early j^ears for future worth engage, 25 No vulgar manhood, no ignoble age. For lo ! none other of the court above Than she, the daughter of almighty Jove, Pallas herself, the war-triumphant maid, Confess'd is thine, as once thy father's aid. 30 So guide me, goddess ! so propitious shine On me, my consort, and my royal line ! 52 THE ODYSSEY A yearling bullock to thy name shall smoke, Untamed, miconscious of the galling yoke, With ample forehead, and yet tender horns, Whose budding honours ductile gold adorns." Submissive thus the hoary sire preferr'd S His holy vow : the favouring goddess heard. Then slowl}^ rising, o'er the sandy space Precedes the father, follow'd by his race, (A long procession) tunely marching home In comely order to the regal dome. lo There when arrived, on thrones around him placed, His sons and grandsons the -^dde circle graced. To these the hospitable sage, in sign Of social welcome, mix'd the racy wine, (Late from the mellowing cask restored to hght, is B}^ ten long years refined, and rosy-bright). To Pallas high the foaming bowl he crown'd. And sprinkled large libations on the ground. Each drinks a full oblivion of his cares, And to the gifts of balmy sleep repairs. 20 Deep in a rich alcove the prince was laid, And slept beneath the pompous colonnade ; Fast by his side Pisistratus lay spread, (In age his equal) on a splendid bed : But in an inner court, securely closed, 25 The reverend Nestor and his queen reposed. When now Am'ora,° daughter of the dawn. With rosy lustre purpled o'er the lawn ; The old man early rose, walk'd forth, and sate On polish'd stone before his palace gate : 30 With unguents smooth the lucid marble shone, Where ancient Neleus sat, a rustic throne ; THE INTERVIEW OF TELEMACHUS AND NESTOR 53 But he descending to the infernal sliade, Sage Nestor fillVi it, and the sceptre sway'd. His sons around him mild obeisance pay, And duteous take the orders of the day. First Echephron and Stratius quit their bed ; 5 Then Perseus, Aretus, and Thrasymed ; The last Pisistratus arose from rest : They came, and near him placed the stranger-guest. To these the senior thus declared his will : "My sons I the dictates of your sire fulfil. lo To Pallas, first of gods, prepare the feast, Who graced our rites, a more than mortal guest. Let one, dispatchful, bid some swain to lead A well-fed bullock from the grassy mead ; One seek the harbour where the vessels moor, is And bring thy friends, Telemachus ! ashore ; (Leave only two the galley to attend) Another to Laerceus must we send. Artist divine, whose skilful hands infold . The victim's horn with circumfusile gold. 20 The rest may here the pious duty share, And bid the handmaids for the feast prepare, The seats to range, the fragrant wood to bring. And limpid waters from the li^nng spring." He said, and busy each his care bestow'd ; 25 Already at the gates the bullock low'd, Alread}' came the Ithacensian crew. The dexterous smith the tools already drew ; His ponderous hammer, and his anvil sound, And the strong tongs to turn the metal round. 30 Nor was Minerva absent from the rite, She view'd her honours, and enjoy'd the sight. 54 THE ODYSSEY With reverend hand the king presents the gold, Wliich round the intorted horns the gilder roU'd ; So ^\Tought, as Pallas might with pride behold. Young Aretus from forth his bridal bower Brought the full laver, o'er their hands to pour, 5 And canisters of consecrated flour. Stratius and Echephron the victim led ; The axe was held by warlike Thrasymed, In act to strike : before him Perseus stood, The vase extending to receive the blood. 10 The king himself initiates to the pow'r ; Scatters with quivering hand the sacred flour, And the stream sprinkles : from the curling brows The hair collected in the fire he throws. Soon as due vows on ever}^ part were paid, 15 And sacred wheat upon the victim laid, Strong Thrasymed discharged the speeding blow Full on his neck, and cut the nerves in two. Down sunk the heavy beast : the females round, Maids, wives, and matrons, mix a shrilhng sound. 20 Xor scorn' d the queen the holy choir to join, (The first-born she, of old Clj^menus' line ; In youth by Nestor loved, of spotless fame. And loved in age, Eurydice by name.) From earth the}' rear him, struggling now with death ; 25 And Xestor's ^''oungest stops the vents of breath. The soul for ever flies : on all sides round Streams the black blood, and smokes upon the ground. The beast they then divide, and disunite The ribs and limbs, observant of the rite : 50 On these, in double cawls involved with art, The choicest morsels lay from every part. THE INTERVIEW OF TELEMACHUS AND NESTOR 5o The sacred sage before liis altar stands, Turns the burnt-offering with his holy hands, And pours the wine, and bids the flames aspire : The youths with instruments surround the fire. The thighs now sacrificed, and entrails dress'd, 5 The assistants part, transfix, and boil the rest. While these officious tend the rites divine. The last fan* branch of the Nestorean fine, Sweet Polycaste, took the pleasing toil To bathe the prince, and pour the fragrant oil. 10 O'er his fair limbs a flowery vest he threw, And issued, like a god, to mortal view. His former seat beside the king he found, (His people's father with his peers around) All placed at ease the holy banquet join, 15 And in the dazzling goblet laughs the wine. The rage of thirst and hunger now suppress'd, The monarch turns him to his royal guest ; And for the promised journey bids prepare The smooth-hair'd horses, and the rapid car. 20 Observant of his word, the v/ord scarce spoke, The sons obe}", and join them to the yoke. Then bread and wine a ready handmaid brings, And presents, such as suit the state of kings. The glittering seat Telemachus ascends : 25 Plis faithful guide, Pisistratus attends ; With hast}^ hand the ruling reins he drew : He lash'd the coursers, and the coursers flew. Beneath the bounding yoke alike they held Their equal pace, and smoked along the fleld. 30 The towers of Pylos sink, its views decay, Fields after fields fly back till close of day : 56 THE ODYSSEY Then sunk the sun, and darken'd all the way. To Pheme now, Diocleus' stately seat, (Of Alpheus' race) the weary youths retreat. His house affords the hospitable rite, And pleased they sleep (the blessing of the night.) But when Aurora,' daughter of the dawn, With ros}'- lustre pui'pled o'er the lawTi ; Again they mount, their journey to renew, And from the sounding portico they flew. Along the wa\'ing fields their way they hold, The fields receding as the chariot roll'd : Then slowly sunk the ruddy globe of fight. And o'er the shaded landscape rush'd the night. BOOK IV ARGUMENT THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS Telemachus, with Pisistratus, arriving at Sparta, is hospitably received by Menelaiis, to whom he relates the cause of his coming, and learns from him many particulars of what befell the Greeks since the destruction of Troy. He dwells more at large upon the prophecies of Proteus to him in his return, from which he acquaints Telemachus, that Ulysses is detained in the island of Calypso. In the mean time, the suitors consult to destroy Telemachus in his voyage home. Penelope is apprised of this, but comforted in a dream by Pallas, in the shape of her sister Ipthima. And now proud Sparta with their wheels resounds, Sparta whose walls a range of hills surrounds : At the fair dome the rapid labour ends ; Where sat Atrides 'midst his bridal friends, With double vows invoking Hymen's° power, 5 To bless his son's and daughter's nuptial hour. That day, to great Achilles' son° resign'd, Hermione, the fairest of her kind, Was sent to crown the long-protracted joy, Espoused before the fatal doom of Troy : lo With steeds and gilded cars, a gorgeous train Attend the nymph to Phthia's distant reign. Meanwhile at home, to Megapenthes' bed 57 58 THE ODYSSEY The virgin-choir° Alector's daughter led. Brave jMegapenthes, from a stolen amour To great Atrides' age his handmaid bore : To Helen's bed the gods alone assign, Hermione, to extend the regal line ; c On whom a radiant pomp of graces wait, Resembling Venus° in attractive state. While this ga}^ friendly troop the king surround, With festival and mirth the roofs resound ; A bard amid the joyous circle sings lo High airs, atteraper'd to the vocal strings ; Whilst, warbling to the varied strain, advance Two sprightly youths to form the bounding dance. 'Twas then, that issuing through the palace gate The splendid car roU'd slow in regal state : 15 On the bright eminence young Nestor shone And fast beside him great Ulysses' son. Grave Eteoneus saw the pomp appear. And, speeding, thus address'd the ro3'al car : "Two youths approach, whose semblant features prove 20 Their blood devolving from the source of Jove. Is due reception deign'd, or must the}^ bend Their doubtful course to seek a distant friend?" "Insensate ! (with a sigh the king replies) Too long, misjudging, have I thought thee wise : 25 But sure relentless folly steels thy breast, Obdurate to reject the stranger guest ; To those dear hospitable rites a foe, Which in my wanderings oft relieved my woe : Fed by the bounty of another's board, 30 Till pitying Jove my native realm restored — Straight be the coursers from the car released, THE CONFERENOE WITH MENELAUS 59 Conduct the youths to grace the genial feast." The seneschal, rebuked, in haste withdrew ; With equal haste a menial train pursue : Part led the coursers, from the car enlarged ; Each to a crib with choicest grain surcharged ; 5 Part in a portico, profusely graced With rich magnificence, the chariot placed ; Then to the dome the friendly pair invite, Who eye the dazzling roofs with vast delight. Resplendent as the blaze of summer-noon, 10 Or the pale radiance of the midnight moon. From room to room their eager view they bend ; Thence to the bath, a beauteous pile, descend ; Where a bright damsel-train attends the guests With liquid odours, and embroider'd vests, 15 Refresh'd, they wait them to the bowser of state, Where circled with his peers Atrides sat : Throned next the king, a fair attendant brings The purest product of the crystal springs ; High on a massy vase of silver mould, 20 The burnish'd laver flames with solid gold : In solid gold the purple vintage flows, And on the board a second banquet rose. When thus the king with hospitable port : "Accept this welcome to the Spartan court ; 25 The waste of nature let the feast repair, Then your high lineage and your names declare : Say from what sceptred ancestry ye claim. Recorded eminent in deathless fame ? For vulgar parents cannot stamp their race 30 With signatures of such majestic grace." Ceasing, benevolent he straight assigns 60 THE OBTSSEY The royal portion of the choicest chines To each accepted friend : ^^-ith grateful haste Thej^ share the honours of the rich repast. Sufficed, soft \Yhispering thus to Nestor's son, His head reclined, young Ithacus begun : 5 ''View'st thou unmoved, 0 ever-honour'd most ! These prodigies of art, and wondrous cost ? Above, beneath, around the palace shines The sumless treasure of exhausted mines : The spoils of elephants the roofs inla}'', lo And studded amber darts a golden ra}^ : Such, and not nobler, in the realms above. My wonder dictates is the dome of Jove." The monarch took the word, and grave replied : "Presumptuous are the vaunts, and vain the pride is Of man who dares in pomp with Jove contest, "Unchanged, unmortal, and supremely bless'd ! With all my affluence when my woes are weigh' d, En^y will own, the purchase dearly paid. For eight slow-circling years by tempest toss'd, 20 From Cyprus to the fair Phoenician coast, (Sidon the capital) I stretch'd m}^ toil Through regions fattened with the flows of Nile. Next Ethiopia's utmost bound explore. And the parch'd borders of the Arabian shore : 25 Then warp my voyage on the southern gales, O'er the warm Libyan wave to spread my sails ; That happy clime ! where each revohing year The teeming ewes a triple offspring bear. And two fair crescents of translucent horn 30 The brows of all their young increase adorn ; The shepherd swains vWth sure abundance bless'd. THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS 61 On the fat flock and rural dainties feast ; Nor want of herbage makes the dairj^ fail, But every season fills the foaming pail. Whilst heaping unwish'd wealth, I distant roam, The best of brothers, at his natal home, 5 B3' the dire hiry of a traitress wife, Ends the sad evening of a stormy life : Whence with incessant grief mj^ soul anno3'''d, These riches are possess'd, but not enjoj'-'d ! My wars, the copious theme of every tongue, 10 To you your fathers have recorded long : How favouring heaven repaid my glorious toils With a sack'd palace, and barbaric spoils. Oh ! had the gods so large a boon denied. And life, the just equivalent, supplied 15 To those brave warriors, who, with glory fired, Far from their country in my cause expired ! Still in short intervals of pleasing woe. Regardful of the friendl}^ dues I owe, I to the glorious dead, for ever dear, 20 Indulge the tribute of a grateful tear. But oh ! Ulysses — deeper than the rest That sad idea wounds my anxious breast ! ]My heart bleeds fresh with agonising pain ; The bowl, and tasteful viands tempt in vain, 25 Nor sleep's soft power can close my streaming eyes, When imaged to my soul his sorrows rise. No peril in my cause he ceased to prove. His labours equal'd only by mj^ love : And both ahke to bitter fortune born, 30 For him to suffer, and for me to mourn ! Whether he wanders on some friendly coast, 62 THE ODYSSEY Or glides in St3^gian gloom a pensive ghost, No fame reveals ; but, doubtful of his doom, His good old sire with sorrow to the tomb Declines his trembling steps ; untimely care Withers the blooming vigour of his heir ; 5 And the chaste partner of his bed and thi-one Wastes all her ^^idow'd hours in tender moan." While thus pathetic to the prince he spoke, From the brave youth the streaming passion broke : Studious to veil the grief, in vain repress'd, lo His face he shrouded ^ith his purple vest. The conscious monarch pierced the coy disguise, And view'd his filial love with vast surprise : Dubious to press the tender theme, or wait To hear the j^outh inquire his father's fate. 15 In this suspense bright Helen° graced the room ; Before her breathed a gale of rich perfume : So moves, adorn'd with each attractive grace, The silver-shafted goddess of the chace ! The seat of majest}^ Adraste brings, 20 With art illustrious, for the pomp of kings. To spread the pall (beneath the regal chair) Of softest woof, is bright Alcippe's care. A silver canister, divinely wrought. In her soft hands the beauteous Ph3^1o brought : 25 To Sparta's queen of old the radiant vase Alcandra gave, a pledge of royal grace : For Polybus her lord (whose sovereign sway The wealthy tribes of Pharian Thebes obey) When to that court Atrides came, caress'd 30 With vast munificence the imperial guest ; Two lavers from the richest ore refined. THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS 63 With silver tripods, the kind host assign 'd : And, bounteous, from the royal treasure told Ten equal talents of refulgent gold. Alcandra, consort of his high command, A golden distaff gave to Helen's hand ; 5 And that rich vase, with living sculpture wrought. Which heap'd with wool the beauteous Phylo brought : The silken fleece impurpled for the loom, Rival'd the hyacinth in vernal bloom. The sovereign seat then Jove-born Helen press'd, lo And pleasing thus her sceptred lord address'd : "Who grace our palace now, that friendly pair, Speak they their lineage, or their names declare ? Uncertain of the truth, yet uncontrolled Hear me the bodings of my breast unfold. 15 With wonder wrapt, on yonder cheek I trace The feature of the L'lyssean race : Diffused o'er each resembling line appear, In just similitude, the grace and air Of young Telemachus, the lovely boy, 20 Who bless'd Ulysses with a father's joy. What time the Greeks combined their social" arms. To avenge the stain of my ill-fated charms !" "Just is thy thought (the king assenting cries), Methinks Ul3'sses strikes my wondering eyes : 25 Full shines the father in the filial frame, His port, his features, and his shape the same : Such quick regards his sparkling ej^es bestow ; Such w^a\^' ringlets o'er his shoulders flow^ ! And when he heard the long disastrous store 30 Of cares, which in my cause Ulysses bore, Dismay'd, heart-wounded with paternal woes, 64 THE ODYSSEY Above restraint the tide of sorrow rose : Cautious to let the gushing grief appear, His purple garment veil'd the falling tear." "See there confess'd, (Pisistratus replies) The genuine worth of Ithacus the wise ! 5 Of that heroic sire the A^outh is sprung, But modest awe hath chain'd his timorous tongue. Th}^ voice, 0 king ! with pleased attention heard, Is like the dictates of a god revered. With him at Nestor's high command I came, 10 Whose age I honour with a parent's name. B}^ adverse destiny constrain'd to sue For counsel and redress, he sues to you. Whatever ill the friendless orphan bears. Bereaved of parents in his infant years, 15 Still must the wrong'd Telemachus sustain, If hopeful of your aid, he hopes in vain : Affianced in your friendly power alone, The j^outh would vindicate the vacant throne." ''Is Sparta bless'd, and these desiring eyes 20 View mj^ friend's son ? (the king exulting cries) Son of my friend, by glorious toils approved, Whose sword was sacred to the man he loyed : Mirror of constant faith, revered, and mourn'd ! — When Troy was ruin'd, had the chief return'd, 25 No Greek an equal space had e'er possess'd. Of dear affection, in my grateful breast. I, to confirm the mutual joys we shared, For his abode a capital prepared ; Argos the seat of sovereign rule I chose ; 3c Fair in the plan the future palace rose. Where my Ulysses and his race might reign, THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS 65 And portion to his tribes the wide domain. To them my vassals had resign'd a soil, With teeming plenty to reward their toil. There with commutual zeal we both had strove In acts of dear benevolence and love : 5 Brothers in peace, not rivals in command, And death alone dissolved the friendly band ! Some envious power the blissful scene destroys ; Vanish'd are all the visionary joys : The soul of friendship to my hope is lost, lo Fated to wander from his natal coast !" He ceased ; a gust of grief began to rise : Fast streams a tide from beauteous Helen's eyes ; Fast for the sire the filial sorrows flow ; The weeping monarch swells the mighty woe : 15 Thy cheeks, Pisistratus, the tears bedew, While pictured to thy mind appear'd in view Thy martial brother, ° on the Phrygian plain Extended pale, by swarthy Memnon slain ! But silence soon the son of Nestor broke, 20 And melting with fraternal pity spoke : ''Frequent, O king, was Nestor wont to raise And charm attention with thy copious praise : To crown thy various gifts, the sage assigned The glory of a firm capacious mind : 25 With that superior attribute control This unavailing impotence of soul. Let not your roof with echoing grief resound, Now for the feast the friendly bowl is crow^n'd : But when from dewy shade emerging bright 30 Aurora streaks the sky with orient light, Let each deplore his dead : the rights of woe 66 THE ODYSSEY . Are all, alas ! the living can bestow : O'er the congenial dust° enjoin'd to shear The graceful curl, and drop the tender tear. Then mingling in the mournful pomp with you, I'll pay m}' brother's ghost a warrior's due, s And mourn the brave Antilochus, a name Not unrecorded in the rolls of fame ; With strength and speed superior form'd in fight To face the foe, or intercept his flight : Too early snatch' d by fate ere known to me ! lo I boast a witness of his worth in thee." '^ Young and mature, (the monarch thus rejoins) In thee renew'd the soul of Nestor shines ; Form'd by the care of that consummate sage, In earh^ bloom an oracle of age. 15 Whene'er his influence Jove vouchsafes to shower To bless the natal, and the nuptial hour ; From the great sire transmissive to the race. The boon devolving gives distinguish'd grace. Such, happj^ Nestor ! was th}^ glorious doom : -o Around thee full of years, thy offspring bloom, Expert of arms, and prudent in debate ; The gifts of heaven to guard thy hoary state. But now let each becalm° his troubled breast. Wash, and partake serene the friendly feast. 25 To move thy suit, Telemachus, delay. Till heaven's revolving lamp° restores the day." He said. Asphalion swift the laver brings : Alternate all partake the grateful springs : Then from the rites of purity repair, 30 And with keen gust the savoury viands share. Meantime with genial joy to warm the soul. THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS 67 Bright Helen mix'd a mii'th-inspiring bowl ; Tempered with drugs of sovereign use to assuage The boihng bosom of tumultuous rage ; To clear the cloudy front of wrinkled care, And dry the tearful sluices of despair : 5 Charm'd with that virtuous draught, the exalteci mind AH sense of woe dehvers to the wind : Though on the blazing pile his parent lay, Or a loved brother groan'd his life away, Or darhng son, oppress'd by ruffian force, lo Fell breathless at his feet a mangled corse ; From morn to eve, impassive and serene, The man entranced w^ould view the deathful scwsie. These drugs, so friendly to the joys of life, Bright Helen learn'd from Thone's imperial wif^ ; is Who swa3^'d the sceptre where prolific Nile With various simples clothes the fattened soil. With wholesome herbage mix'd, the direful ban*^ Of vegetable venom taints the plain ; From Paeon sprung, their patron-god imparts 20 To all the Pharian race his heahng arts. The beverage now prepared to inspire the feast. The circle thus the beauteous queen address'd : ^'Throned in omnipotence, supremest Jove Tempers the fates of human race above ; 25 By the firm sanction of his sovereign will. Alternate are decreed our good and ill. To feastful mirth be this white hour assign'd, And sweet discourse, the banquet of the mind. Myself assisting in the social joy, 30 Will tell Ulysses' bold exploit in Troy : Sole witness of the deed I now declare ; 68 THE ODYSSEY Speak you (who saw) his wonders in the war. ''Seam'd o'er with wounds, which his own sabre gave, In the vile habit of a village slave, The foe deceived, he pass'd the tented plain, In Troy to mingle with the hostile train. In this attire secure from searching eyes, Till haply piercing through the dark disguise The chief I challenged ; he whose practised wit . Knew all the serpent-mazes of deceit, Eludes my search : but when his form I ^-iew'd Fresh from the bath with fragrant oils renew' d, His limbs in military purple dress'd ; Each brightening grace the genuine Greek confess'd. A previous pledge of sacred faith obtain'd, Till he the lines and Argive fleet regain'd. To keep his stay conceal'd : the chief declared The plans of war against the town prepared. Exploring then the secrets of the state, He learn'd what best might urge the Dardan° fate : And, safe returning to the Grecian host, Sent many a shade to Pluto's dreary coast. Loud grief resounded through the towers of Troy, But my pleased bosom glow'd with secret joj^ : For then, wdth dire remorse and conscious shame, I view'd the effects of that disastrous flame, Which, kindled by the imperious queen of love, Constrain'd me from vny native realm to rove : And oft in bitterness of soul deplored My absent daughter, and m}^ dearer lord ; Admired among the first of human race. For every gift of mind and manly grace." "Right well, (replied the kmg) your speech displays 25 30 THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS 69 The matchless merit of the chief you praise : Heroes in various cHmes myself have found, For martial deeds, and depth of thought renown'd. But Ithacus, unrivai'd in his claim, May boast a title to the loudest fame : S In battle calm, he guides the rapid storm, Wise to resolve, and patient to perform. What wondrous conduct in the chief appeared, When the vast fabric of the steed we rear'd ! Some demon, anxious for the Trojan doom, lo Urged you with great Deiphobus° to come. To explore the fraud ; with guile opposed to guile, Slow-pacing thrice around the insidious pile, Each noted leader's name you thrice invoke. Your accent var3qng as their spouses spoke : is The pleasing sounds each latent warrior warm'd, But most Tj^dides' and my heart alarm'd : To quit the steed we both impatient press, Threatening to answer from the dark recess. Uimioved the mind of Ithacus remain'd, 20 And the vain ardours of our love restrained : But Anticlus, unable to control, Spoke loud the language of his yearning soul : Ulj^sses straight with indignation fired, (For so the common care of Greece required) 25 Firm to his lips his forceful hands applied. Till on his tongue the fluttering murmurs died. Meantime Minerva from the fraudful horse° Back to the court of Priam bent your course,." "Inclement fate ! (Telemachus replies) 30 Frail is the boasted attribute of wise : The leader, mingling with the vulgar host, 70 THE ODYSSEY ts in the common mass of matter lost ! But now let sleep the painful waste repair Of sad reflection and corroding care." He ceased : the menial fair that round her wait, A.t Helen's beck prepare the room of state ; 5 Beneath an ample portico they spread The down}^ fleece to form the slumbrous bed, And o'er soft palls of purple grain unfold Rich tapestry, stiff ^\'ith inwoven gold : Then through the illumined dome, to balmy rest lo The obsequious herald guides each princely guest. While to his regal bower the king ascends. And beauteous Helen on her lord attends. Soon as the morn in orient purple dress'd, Unbarr'd the portal of the roseate east, is The monarch rose ; magnificent to view, The imperial mantle o'er his vest he threw ; The glittering zone athwart his shoulder cast, A starry falchion low-depending graced ; Clasp'd on his feet the embroider'd sandals shine ; 20 And forth he moves, majestic and divine. Instant to j^oung Telemachus he press'd, And thus benevolent his speech address'd : "Say, royal j^outh, sincere of soul, report What cause hath led you to the Spartan court ? 25 Do public or domestic cares constrain This toilsome voj^age o'er the surgy main?" ''0 highly favour'd delegate of Jove ! (Replies the prince) inflamed with filial love, And anxious hope, to hear my parent's doom, 30 A suppliant to your royal court T come. Our sovereign seat a lewd usurping race THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS 71 With lawless riot and misrule disgrace ; To pamper'd insolence devoted fall Prime of the flock, and choicest of the stall For wild ambition wings their bold desire, And all to mount the imperial bed aspire. S But prostrate I implore, O king ! relate The mournful series of m}^ father's fate ! Each known disaster of the man disclose. Born by his mother to a world of woes ! Recite them ! nor in erring pitj^ fear lo To wound with storied grief the filial ear : If e'er Ulysses, to reclaim your right, Avow'd his zeal in council or in fight, If Plnygian camps the friendly toils attest. To the sire's merit give the son's request." 15 Deep from his inmost soul Atrides sigh'd, And thus indignant to the prince replied : "Heavens ! would a soft, inglorious, dastard train An absent hero's nuptial joys profane ! So with her young, amid the woodland shades, 20 A timorous hind the lion's court invades. Leaves in the fatal lair the tender fawns, Climbs the green cliff, or feeds the flowery lawns : Meantime return'd, with dire remorseless sway The monarch-savage rends the trembling prey. 25 With equal fur}^, and with equal fame, Ulysses soon shall reassert his claim. O Jove supreme, whom gods and men revere ! And thou, to whom 'tis given to gild the sphere ! With power congenial join'd, propitious aid 30 The chief adopted by the martial maid ! Such to our wish the warrior soon restore, 72 THE ODYSSEY As when contending on the Lesbian shore His prowess PhilomeUdes confessed, And loud-acclaiming Greeks the victor bless'd : Then soon the invaders of his bed and throne, Their love presumptuous shall with life atone. S With patient ear, 0 royal youth, attend The storied labours of thy father's friend : Fruitful of deeds, the copious tale is long, But truth severe shall dictate to my tongue Learn what I heard the sea-born seer relate, lo Whose eye can pierce the dark recess of fate. ''Long on the Eg}T)tian coast b}^ calms confined, Heaven to my fleet refused a prosperous wind: No vows had we preferred, nor ^^ctim slain ! For this the gods each favouring gale restrain : 15 Jealous, to see their high behests obey'd ; Severe, if men the eternal rites evade. High o'er a giilfy sea, the Pharian isle Fronts the deep roar of disemboguing^ Xile : Her distance from the shore, the course begun 20 At dawTi, and ending with the setting sun, A galley measures ; when the stiffer gales Rise on the poop, and fulh' stretch the sails. There, anchor'd vessels safe in harbour lie. While limpid springs the failing cask supply. 25 " And now the twentieth sun, descending, laves His glowing axle in the western waves ; Still ^ith expanded sails we court in vain Propitious winds to waft us o'er the main : And the pale mariner at once deplores 30 His drooping vigour, and exhausted stores, When lo ! a bright ccerulean form appears, THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELA US 73 The fair Eidothea ! to dispel my fears ; Proteus° her sire divine. With pity press'd, Me sole the daughter of the deep address'd ; What time, with hunger pined, my absent mates Roam the wild isle in search of rural cates,° 5 Bait the barb'd steel, and from the fishy flood Appease the afflictive fierce desire of food. ' Whoe'er thou art (the azure goddess cries) Thy conduct ill deserves the praise of wise : Is death thy choice, or misery thy boast, lo That here inglorious on a barren coast Thy brave associates droop, a meagre train, With famine pale, and ask thy care in vain ? ' '^ Struck wdth the kind reproach, I straight reply: Whate'er thy title in thy native sky, is A goddess sure ! for more than mortal gi'ace Speaks thee descendant of ethereal race : Deem not, that here of choice my fleet remains \ Some heavenly power averse my stay constrains: 0, piteous of my fate, vouchsafe to shew 20 (For what's sequester'd from celestial view ?) W^hat power becalms the innavigable seas ? What guilt provokes him, and what vows appease?" ''I ceased; when affable the goddess cried: ' Observe, and in the truths I speak confide : 25 The oraculous seer frequents the Pharian coast. From whose high bed my birth divine I boast ; Proteus, a name tremendous o'er the main. The delegate of Neptune's watery reign. Watch with insidious care his known abode ; 30 There fast in chains constrain the various god : Who bound, obedient to superior force, 74 THE ODYSSEY Unerring will prescribe your destined course. If studious of your realms, you then demand, Their state, since last you left your natal land ; Instant the god obsequious will disclose Bright tracks of glory, or a cloud of woes.' S ''She ceased, and suppliant thus I made reply: 0 goddess ! on thy aid m}^ hopes rely ; Dictate, propitious, to my duteous ear What arts can captivate the changeful seer : For perilous the essay, unheard the toil, ic To elude the prescience of a god by guile. ''Thus to the goddess mild my suit I end. Then she : ' Obedient to my rule, attend : When through the zone of heaven the mounted sun Hath journey 'd half, and half remains to run ; 15 The seer, while zephyrs curl the swelling deep, Basks on the breezy shore, in grateful sleep, His oozy limbs. Emerging from the wave, The phocse swift surround his rocky cave. Frequent and full ; the consecrated train 20 Of her,° whose azure trident awes the main : There wallowing warm, the enormous herd exhales An oily steam, and taints the noon-tide gales. To that recess, commodious for surprise. When purple light shall next suffuse the skies, 25 With me repair ; and from th}^ warrior band Three chosen chiefs of dauntless soul command. Let their auxiliar° force befriend the toil. For strong the god, and perfected in guile, Stretch'd on the shelly shore, he first surveys 30 The flouncing herd ascending from the seas ; Their number summ'd, reposed in sleep profound THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS 75 The scaly charge their guardian god surround : So with his battening flocks the careful swain Abides, pavilion'd on the grassy plain. With powers united, obstinately bold, Invade him, couch'd amid the scaly fold. 5 Instant he wears, elusive of the rape. The mimic force of every savage shape : Or glides with liquid lapse a murmuring stream, Or wrapt in flame, he glows at every limb. Yet still retentive, with redoubled might lo Through each vain passive form constrain his flight. But when, his native shape resumed, he stands Patient of conquest, and your cause demands ; The cause that urged the l^old attempt declare, And soothe the vanquish 'd with a victor's prayer. is The bands relax'd, implore the seer to say What godhead interdicts the watery way ? Who straight propitious, in prophetic strain Will teach you to repass the unmeasured main.' She ceased, and bounding from the shelfy shore, 20 Round the descending nymph the waves redounding roar. ''High rapt in wonder of the future deed With joy impetuous to the port I speed ; The wants of nature with repast suffice. Till night with grateful shade involved the skies, 25 And shed ambrosial dews. Fast by the deep. Along the tented shore, in balmy sleep. Our cares were lost. When o'er the eastern lawn, In saffron robes the daughter of the dawn Advanced her rosy steps ; before the day, 30 Due ritual honours to the gods I pay ; Then seek the place the sea-born nymph assign'd, 76 THE ODYSSEY With three associates of undaunted mind. Arrived, to form along the appointed strand For each a bed, she scoops the hilly sand : Then from her azure car the finnj- spoils Of four vast phocse takes, to veil her wiles : S Beneath the finny spoils extended prone, Hard toil ! the prophet's piercing eye to shun; New from the corse, the scaly frauds diffuse Unsavoury stench of oil, and brackish ooze : But the bright sea-maid's gentle power implored, lo With nectar'd drops the sickening sense restored. ''Thus, till the sun had travel'd half the skies, Ambush'd we lie, and wait the bold emprise : When thronging quick to bask in open air. The flocks of ocean to the strand repair ; 15 Couch'd on the sunny sand, the monsters sleep : Then Proteus, mounting from the hoary deep, Survey's his charge, unknowing of deceit : (In order told, we make the sum complete.) Pleased with the false reidew, secure he lies, 20 And leaden slumbers press his drooping eyes. Rushing impetuous forth, we straight prepare A furious onset with the sound of war. And shouting seize the god : our force to evade, His various arts he soon resumes in aid : 25 A lion now, he curls a surgy mane ; Sudden, our bands a spotted pard" restrain ; Then arm'd with tusks, and lightning in his eyes, A boar's obscener shape the god belies : On spiry volumes, there a dragon rides ; 30 Here, from our strict embrace a stream he glides And last, sublime his stately gro\\i:h he rears, THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS • 77 A tree, and well-dissembled foliage wears. Vain efforts ! with superior power compress'd, Me with reluctance thus the seer address'd : * Say, son of Atreus, say what god inspired This daring fraud, and what the boon desired ? ' 5 "I thus : — '0 thou, whose 'certain eye foresees The fix'd event of fate's remote decrees ; After long woes, and various toil endured, Still on this desert isle my fleet is moor'd ; Unfriended of the gales. All-knowing ! say, 10 What godhead interdicts the w^atery way ? What vows repentant will the power appease. To speed a prosperous voyage o'er the seas ? ' To Jove (with stern regard the god repUes) * And all the offended synod of the skies, 15 Just hecatombs with due devotion slain. Thy guilt absolved, a prosperous voyage gain. To the firm sanction of thy fate attend ! An exile thou, nor cheering face of friend, Nor sight of natal shore, nor regal dome 20 Shalt yet enjoy, but still art doom'd to roam. Once more the Nile, who from the secret source Of Jove's high seat descends wath sweepy force, Must view his billows white beneath thy oar, And altars blaze along his sanguine shore. 25 Then will the gods, with holy pomp adored. To thy long vows a safe return accord.' "He ceased : heart-wounded with afflictive pain, (Doom'd to repeat the perils of the main, A shelf y track, and long !) 0 seer, I cry, 30 To the stern sanction of the offended sky My prompt obedience bows. But deign to say, 78 THE ODYSSEY What fate propitious, or ^Yllat dire dismay Sustain those peers, the rehcs of our host, Whom I with Nestor on the Plirj^gian coast Embracing left ? Must I the warriors weep, Whelm'd in the bottom of the monstrous deep ? s Or did the kind domestic friend deplore The breathless heroes on their native shore ? ' Press not too far (replied the god) but cease To know, what known will violate th}^ peace : Too curious of their doom ! with friendly woe ic Th}^ breast will heave, and tears eternal flow. Part live ! the rest, a lamentable train ! Range the dark bounds of Pluto's dreary reign. Two, foremost in the roll of Mars renown'd, Whose arms with conquest in th}^ cause were crown'd, 15 Fell by disastrous fate : b}^ tempests tost, A tliird lives wretched on a distant coast. 'By Neptune rescued from ^Minerva's hate, On GjTse, safe Oilean Ajax sat. His sliip o'erwhelm'd : but frowning on the floods, 20 Impious he roar'd defiance to the gods ; To his own prowess all the glory gave, The power defrauding who vouchsafed to save. This heard the raging ruler of the main ; His spear, indignant for such liigh disdain, 25 He iaunch'd ; dividing with his forky mace The aerial summit from the marl^le base ; The rock rush'd sea-ward with impetuous roar Ingulf'd, and to the abyss the boaster bore. ' By Juno's guardian aid, the watery vast. 30 Secure of storms, 3'our royal brother^ pass'd ; Till coasting nigh the cape, where Malea shrouds THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS 79 Her spiry cliffs amid surrounding clouds, A whirling gust tumultuous from the shore, Across the deep his labouring vessel bore. In an ill-fated hour the coast he gain'd Where late in regal pomp Thyestes reign'd ; S But when his hoary honours bow'd to fate, ^gysthus govern'd in paternal state. The surges now subside, the tempest ends ; From his tall ship the king of men descends ; There fondly thinks the gods conclude his toil : lo Far from his own domain salutes the soil : With rapture oft the verge of Greece reviews. And the dear turf with tears of joy bedews. Him thus exulting on the distant strand, A spy distinguish'd from his airy stand ; is To bribe v/hose vigilance, J^gysthus told A might}' sum of ill-persuading gold : There watch'd this guardian of his guilty fear, Till the twelfth moon had wheel'd her pale career ; And now admonish'd by his e3'e, to court co With terror wing'd conveys the dread report. Of deathful arts expert, his lord employs The ministers of blood in dark surprise ; And twenty youths in radiant mail incased. Close ambush'd nigh the spacious hall he placed. 25 Then bids prepare the hospitable treat : Vain shows of love to veil his felon hate ! To grace the victor's welcome from the wars, A train of coursers, and triumphal cars. Magnificent he leads : the royal guest, 30 Thoughtless of ill, accepts the fraudful feast. The troop forth issuing from the dark recess, 80 THE ODYSSEY With homicidal rage the king oppress ! So, whilst he feeds luxurious in the stall, The sovereign of the herd is doom'd to fall. The partners of his fame and toils at Troy, Around then- lord, a mighty ruin ! lie : 5 IMix'd with the brave, the base invaders bleed ; ^Egysthus sole sur\dves to boast the deed.' ''He said ; chill horror shook m^' shivering soul, Rack'd with convulsive pangs in dust I roll ; And hate, in madness of extreme despair, lo To view the sun, or breathe the vital air : But vrhen superior to the rage of woe, I stood restored, and tears had ceased to flow ; Lenient of grief, the pit3ang god began — ' Forget the brother, and resume the man : 15 To fate's supreme dispose the dead resign, That care be fate's, a speedj^ passage thine. Still lives the wretch who ^Tought the death deplored, But lives a victim for thy vengeful sword ; Unless with fiUal rage Orestes glow, 20 And swift prevent the meditated blow : You timely will return a welcome guest, With him to share the sad funereal feast.' "He said: new thoughts nw beating heart employ, My gloomy soul receives a gleam of joy. 25 Fair hope revives ; and eager I address'd The prescient godhead to reveal the rest. The doom decreed of those disastrous two I've heard with pain, but oh ! the tale pursue ; What third brave son of Mars the fates constrain 30 To roam the howling desert of the main : Or in eternal shade if cold he lies, THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS 81 Provoke new sorrow from these grateful eyes. ' That chief (rejoin'd the god) his race derives From Ithaca, and wondrous woes survives Laertes' son : girt with circumfluous tides, He still calamitous constraint abides. S Him in Calypso's cave of late I view'd, When streaming grief his faded cheek bedew'd, But vain his prayer, his arts are vain, to move The enamour'd goddess, or elude her love : His vessel sunk, and dear companions lost, lo He lives reluctant on a foreign coast. But oh, beloved by heaven ! reserved to thee A happier lot the smiling fates decree ! Free from that law, beneath whose mortal sway Matter is changed, and varying forms decay, 15 Elysium shall be thine ; the blissful plains Of utmost earth, where Rhadamanthus° reigns. Joys ever young, unmix'd with pain or fear, Fill the wide circle of the eternal year : Stern winter smiles on that auspicious clime : 20 The fields are florid with unfading prime : From the bleak pole no winds inclement blow. Mould the round hail, or flake the fleecy snow ; But from the breez}^ deep the bless'd inhale The fragrant murmurs of the western gale. 25 This grace peculiar will the gods afford To thee the son of Jove, and beauteous Helen's lord.' ''He ceased, and plunging in the vast profound. Beneath the god the whirling billows bound. Then speeding back, involved in various thought, 30 My friends attending at the shore I sought. Arrived, the rage of hunger we control, 82 THE ODYSSEY Till night with silent shade invests the pole ; Then lose the cares of life in pleasing rest. — Soon as the morn reveals the roseate east, With sails we wing the masts, our anchors weigh, Unmoor the fleet, and rush into the sea. 5 Ranged on the banks, beneath our equal oars White curl the waves, and the vex'd ocean roars. Then steering backward from the Pharian isle. We gain the stream of Jove-descended Xile : There quit the ships, and on the destined shore to With ritual hecatombs the gods adore : Their wrath atoned, to Agamemnon's name A cenotaph I raise of deathless fame. These rites to piety and grief discharged. The friendly gods a springing gale enlarged : 15 The fleet s\\ih tilting o'er the surges flew. Till Grecian cliffs appear'd, a blissful y\q\\ ! ''Thy patient ear hath heard me long relate A story, fruitful of disastrous fate : And now, 3'oung prince, indulge my fond request ; 20 Be Sparta honour'd vdih. his royal guest. Till from his eastern goal, the joyous sun His twelfth diurnal race begins to run. ]\Ieantime my train the friendh^ gifts prepare, Three sprightly coursers, and a polish'd car : 25 With these, a goblet of capacious mould. Figured with art to dignify the gold, (Form'd for libation to the gods) shall prove A pledge and monument of sacred love." "]\Iy quick return (young Ithacus rejoin'd) 30 Damps the warm wishes of my raptured mind : Did not my fate my needful haste constrain, THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUH 83 Charm'd by your speech, so graceful and humane, Lost in dehght the circUng j^ear would roll. While deep attention fix'd my listening soul. But now to Pyle permit my destined way, My loved associates chide my long delay : 5 In dear remembrance of your royal grace, I take the present of the promised vase ; The coursers for the champaign sports, retain ; That gift our barren rocks will render vain : Horrid with cliffs, our meagre land allows 10 Thin herbage for the mountain goat to browze, But neither mead nor plain supplies, to feed The sprightly courser, or indulge his speed : To sea-surrounded realms the gods assign Small tract of fertile lawn, the least to mine." 15 His hand the king v/ith tender passion press'd. And smiling, thus the royal youth address'd : "0 early worth ! a soul so wise, and young, Proclaims you from the sage Ulysses sprung. Selected from my stores, of matchless price, r- An urn shall recompense your prudent choice ; Not mean the massy mould of silver, graced By Vulcan's art, the verge with gold enchased : A pledge the sceptred power of Sidon gave. When to his realm I ploughed the orient wave." 25 Thus they alternate ; while mth artful care The menial train the regal feast prepare : The firsthngs of the flock are doom'd to die ; Rich fragrant wines the cheering bowl supply ; A female band the gift of Ceres bring ; 30 And the gilt roofs with genial triumph ring. Meanwhile, in Ithaca, the suitor powers 84 THE ODYSSEY In active games divide their jovial hours : In areas varied with mosaic art, Some whirl the disk, and some the javelin dart. Aside, sequestered from the vast resort, Antinous sat spectator of the sport ; With great Eurjnuachus, of worth confess'd, And high descent, superior to the rest ; Whom 3^oung Noemon lowly thus address'd • ''My ship equipp'd wdthin the neighbouring port, The prince, departing for the Pyhan court. Requested for his speed ; but courteous, say When steers he home, or why this long delay ? For Elis I should sail with utmost speed. To import twelve mares with their luxurious feed, And twelve young mules, a strong laborious race. New to the plough, unpractised in the trace." Unknowing of the course to Pyle design'd, A sudden horror seized on either mind : The prince in rural bower they fondly thought, Numbering his flocks and herds, not far remote. ''Relate (Antinous cries) devoid of guile, When spread the prince his sail for distant Pyle? Did chosen chiefs across the gulf}' main Attend his voyage, or domestic train ? Spontaneous did you speed his secret course. Or was the vessel seized b}^ fraud or force?" "With willing dutj^, not reluctant mind, (Noemon cried) the vessel was resign'd. Who in the balance, with the great affairs Of courts, presume to weigh their private cares ? With him, the peerage next in power to you ; And jMentor, captain of the lordl}^ crew, THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS 85 Or some celestial in his reverend form. Safe from the secret rock and adverse storm, Pilots the course : for when the glimmering ray Of yester dawn disclosed the tender day, Mentor himself I saw, and much admired." — S Then ceased the youth, and from the court retired. Confounded and appall'd, the unfinish'd game The suitors quit, and all to council came : Antinous first the assembled peers address'd. Rage sparkling in his eyes, and burning in his breast. lo ''0 shame to manhood ! shall one daring boy The scheme of all our happiness destroy ? Fly unperceived, seducing half the flower Of nobles, and invite a foreign power ? The ponderous engine raised to crush us all, is Recoiling, on his head is sure to fall. Instant prepare me, on the neighbouring strand, With twenty chosen mates a vessel mann'd ; For ambush'd close beneath the Samian shore His ship returning shall my spies explore : 20 He soon his rashness shall with life atone, Seek for his father's fate, but find his own." With vast applause the sentence all approve ; Then rise, and to the feastful hall remove : Swift to the queen the herald Medon ran, 25 Who heard the consult of the dire divan° ; Before her dome the royal matron stands, And thus the message of his haste demands : "What will the suitors? must my servant train The allotted labours of the day refrain, 30 For them to form some exquisite repast? Heaven grant this festival may prove their last ! 86 THE ODYSSEY Or if they still must live, from me remove The double plague of luxury and love ! Forbear, ye sons of insolence ! forbear, In riot to consume a MTetched heir. In the young soul illustrious thought to raise, 5 Were ye not tutor'd with Uh^sses' praise ? Have not your fathers oft m}^ lord defined, Gentle of speech, beneficent of mind ? Some kings with arbitrary rage devour. Or in their t\Tant-minions vest the power : lo Ub'sses let no partial favours fall. The people's parent, he protected all : But absent now, perfidious and ingrate ! His stores ye ravage, and usurp his state." He thus : ''0 were the vroes 3'ou speak the worst ; 15 They form a deed more odious and accursed ; ]\Iore dreadful than }/our boding soul divines : But pitying Jove avert the dire designs ! The darling object of your roj^al care Is mark'd to perish in a deatliful snare ; 20 Before he anchors in his native port. From Pyle resailing and the Spartan court ; Horrid to speak ! in ambush is decreed The hope and heir of Ithaca to bleed !" Sudden she sunk beneath the weighty woes,_ 25 The ^^tal streams a chilling horror froze : The big round tear stands trembling in her eye, And on her tongue imperfect accents die. At length, in tender language, interwove With sighs, she thus expressed her anxious love : 30 "Why rashi3^ would my son liis fate explore. Ride the wild waves, and quit the safer shore ? THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS 87 Did he, with all the greatly wretched, crave A blank oblivion, and a friendly grave?" '' 'Tis not (replied the sage) to Medon given To know, if some inhabitant of heaven In his young breast the daring thought inspired, .5 Or if alone, with filial duty fired. The winds and waves he tempts in early bloom, Studious to learn his absent father's doom." The sage retired: unable to control The mighty griefs that swell her labouring soul, 10 Rolling convulsive on the floor, is seen The piteous object of a prostrate queen. Words to her dumb complaint a pause supplies, And breath, to waste in unavailing cries. Around their sovereign wept the menial fair, 15 To whom she thus address'd her deep despair : ''Behold a wretch whom all the gods consign To woe ! Did ever sorrows equal mine ? Long to Tuy joys my dearest lord is lost, His country's buckler, and the Grecian boast : 20 Now from my fond embrace, by tempests torn, Our other column of the state is borne : Nor took a kind adieu, nor sought consent ! — Unkind confederates in his dire intent ! Ill suits it with your shows of duteous zeal, 25 From me the purposed voyage to conceal : Though at the solemn midnight hour he rose, Why did you fear to trouble my repose ? He either had obey'd n\y fond desire. Or seen his mother pierced with grief expire. 3a Bid Dolius cjuick attend, the faithful slave Whom to nuptial train Icarius gave, 88 TEE ODYSSEY To attend the fruit-groves : with incessant speed He shall this violence of death decreed, To good Laertes tell. Experienced age May timeh" intercept the ruffian-rage, Convene the tribes, the murderous plot reveal, 5 And to their power to save his race appeal." Then Euryclea thus : "My dearest dread ! Though to the sword I bow this hoary head, Or if a dungeon be the pain decreed, I own me conscious of the unpleasing deed : 10 Auxiliar to his flight, my aid implored, With wine and viands I the vessels stored : A solemn oath imposed the secret seal'd. Till the twelfth dawn the light of heaven reveal'd. Dreading the effect of a fond mother's fear, 15 He dared not violate your royal ear. But bathe, and in imperial robes array'd, Pay due devotions to the martial maid, And rest affianced in her guardian aid. Send not to good Laertes, nor engage 20 In toils of state the miseries of age : 'Tis impious to surmise, the powers divine To ruin doom the Jove-descended line : Long shall the race of just Arcesius reign, And isles remote enlarge his old domain." 25 The queen her speech with calm attention hears. Her eyes restram the silver-streaming tears : She bathes, and robed, the sacred dome ascends : Her pious speed a female train attends : The salted cakes in canisters are laid, 30 And thus the queen invokes Minerva's aid : '^ Daughter divine of Jove ! whose arm can wield THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS 89 The avenging bolt, and shake the dreadful shield If e'er Ulysses to thy fane preferred The best and choicest of his flock and herd ; Hear, goddess, hear, by those oblations won ; And for the pious sire preserve the son : S His wdsh'd return with happy power befriend, And on the suitors let thy wTath descend !" She ceased ; shrill ecstasies of joy declare The favouring goddess present to the prayer : The suitors heard, and deem'd the mirttiful voice lo A signal of her hymeneal choice ; Whilst one most jovial thus accosts the board : ''Too late the queen selects a second lord ; In evil hour the nuptial rite intends, When o'er her son disastrous death impends." 15 Thus he unskill'd of what the fates pro^-ide, But ^^dth severe rebuke Antinous cried : ''These empty vaunts vail make the voyage vain ; Alarm not with discourse the menial train : The great event with silent hope attend ; 2c Our deeds alone our counsel must commend." His speech thus ended short, he frowning rose, And twenty chiefs renown'd for valour chose : Down to the strand he speeds ^dth haughty strides, Where anchor'd in the bay the vessel rides, 25 Replete with mail and military store, In all her tackle trim to quit the shore. The desperate crew ascend, unfurl the sails ; (The sea-ward prow invites the tardy gales) Then take repast, till Hesperus" display'd 30 His golden circlet in the western shade. Meantime the queen without refection due. 90 THE ODYSSEY Heart-wounded, to the bed of state withdrew : In her sad breast the prince's fortunes roll, And hope and doubt alternate seize her soul. So when the v\-oodman's toil her cave surrounds, And with the hunter's crj" the grove resounds ; 5 With grief and rage the mother lion stung, Fearless herself, yet trembles for her young. While pensive in the silent slumbrous shade, Sleep's gentle powers her drooping eyes invade ; IMinerva, Hfe-hke on embodied air lo Impressed the form of Iphthima the fair : (Icarius' daughter she, whose blooming charms Allured Eumelus to her virgin- arms ; A sceptred lord, who o'er the fruitful plain Of Thessaly, wide stretch'd his ample reign :) is As Pallas will'd, along the sable skies To calm the queen the phantom-sister flies. Swift on the regal dome descending right. The bolted valves are pervious to her flight. Close to her head the pleasing \ision stands, 20 And thus performs Minerva's high commands : ''0 why, Penelope, this causeless fear, To render sleep's soft blessing insincere ? Ahke devote to sorrow's dire extreme The day reflection, and the midnight dream ! 25 Thy son, the gods propitious will restore. And bid thee cease his absence to deplore." To whom the queen, whilst yet her pensive mind Was in the silent gates of sleep confined : "0 sister, to mj^ soul for ever dear, 30 ^Ti\^ tliis first visit to reprove my fear ? How in a realm so distant should you know THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS 91 From what deep source my ceaseless sorrows flow ? To all my hope my royal lord is lost, His country's buckler, and the Grecian boast ; And with consummate woe to w^eigh me down, The heir of all his honours, and his crown, 5 My darhng son is fled ! an easy prey To the fierce storms, or men more fierce than they ; Who, in a league of blood associates sworn. Will intercept the unwary youth's return." ''Courage resume, (the shadowy form replied) lo In the protecting care of heaven confi.de : On him attends the blue-eyed martial maid ; What earthly can implore a surer aid ? Me now the guardian goddess deigns to send. To bid thee patient Ms return attend." 15 The queen replies : ''If in the bless'd abodes, A goddess, thou hast commerce with the gods ; Say, breathes my lord the blissful realm of hght. Or lies he wrapt in ever-during night ?" "Inquire not of his doom, (the phantom cries) 20 I speak not all the counsel of the skies ; Nor must indulge with vain discourse, or long, The wind}^ satisfaction of the tongue." Swift thi'ough the valves the visionary fair Ptepass'd, and viewless mix'd wdth common air. 25 The queen awakes, deliver'd of her woes : With florid joy her heart dilating glows : The vision, manifest of future fate. Makes her with hope her son's arrival w^ait. Meantime the suitors plough the waterj^ plain 30 Telemachus in thought alread\^ slain ! When sight of lessening Ithaca was lost. 92 THE ODYSSEY Their sail directed for the Samian coast, A small but verdant isle appear'd in view, And Asteris the advancing pilot knew : An ample port the rocks projected form, To break the rolling waves, and ruffling storm That safe recess thej^ gain vdih happy speed, And in close ambush v\-ait the murderous deed. BOOK Y ARGUMENT THE DEPARTURE OF ULYSSES FROM CALYPSO Pallas, in a council of the gods, complains of the detention of Ulysses in the island of Calypso ; whereupon Mercury is sent to command his removal. The seat of Calypso described. She con- sents with much difficulty, and Ulysses builds a vessel with his own hands, on which he embarks. Neptune overtakes him with a terrible tempest, in which he is shipwrecked, and in the last danger of death ; till Leucothea, a sea-goddess, assists him, and after innumerable perils he gets ashore on Phseacia. The saffron morn, with early blushes spread. Now rose refulgent from Tithonus'° bed ; With new-born day to gladden mortal sight. And gild the courts of heaven with sacred light. Then met the eternal synod of the sky, 5 Before the god who thunders from on high, Supreme in might, sublime in majesty. Pallas, to these, deplores the unequal fates Of wise Ulysses, and his toils relates ; Her hero's danger touch'd the pitying power, lo The nymph's° seducem^ents, and the magic bower. Thus she began her plaint : — ''Immortal Jove ! And 3^ou who fill the blissful seats above ! 93 94 THE ODYSSEY Let kings no more ^vith gentle mere}' sway, Or bless a people willing to obey, But crush the nations with an iron rod, And every monarch be the scourge of god, If from your thoughts Ulysses j^ou remove, 5 Who ruled his subjects with a father's love. , Sole in an isle, encircled by the main, Abandon'd, banish'd from his native reign, Unbless'd he sighs, detain'd by lawless charms, And press'd unwilling in Cah'pso's arms. 10 Nor friends are there, nor vessels to convey, Nor oars to cut the immeasm-able way. And now fierce traitors, studious to destroy His onl}^ son, their ambush'd fraud employ ; Who, pious, following his great father's fame, 15 To sacred Pylos and to Sparta came." " What words are these ? (replied the power who forms The clouds of night, and darkens heaven with storms) Is not already in thy soul decreed. The chief's return shall make the guilty bleed ? 20 What cannot wisdom do ? Thou may'st restore The son in safety to his native shore ; While the fell foes who late in ambush lay. With fraud defeated, measure back their way." Then thus to Hermes° the command was given : 25 "Hermes, thou chosen messenger of heaven ! Go, to the nymph be these our orders borne : Tis Jove's decree Ulysses shall retm-n ; The patient man shall ^dew his old abodes. Nor help'd by mortal hand, nor guiding gods ; 30 In twice ten days shall fertile Scheria find. Alone, and floating to the wave and wind. THE DEPARTURE OF ULYSSES FROM CALYPSO 95 The bold Phaeacians there, whose haughty Hue Is mix'd with gods, half human, half divine, The chief shall honour as some heavenl}' guest, And swift transport him to his place of rest. His vessels loaded with a plenteous store 5 Of brass, of vestures, and resplendent ore, (A richer prize than if his joyful isle Received him charged with Ilion's noble spoil) His friends, his country, he shall see, though late ; Such is our sovereign will, and such is fate." lo He spoke. The god who mounts the winged winds Fast to his feet the golden pinions binds, That high through fields of air his flight sustain O'er the wide earth, and o'er the boundless main. He grasps the wand that causes sleep to fiy, 15 Or in soft slumber seals the wakeful eye ; Then shoots from heaven to high Pieria's steep, And stoops incumbent on the rolling deep. So watery fowl, that seek their fishy food, With wings expanded o'er the foaming flood, 20 Now sailing smooth the level surface sweep, Now dip their pinions in the brin}^ deep. Thus o'er the world of waters Hermes flew, Till now the distant island rose in \iew ; Then swift ascending from the azure wave, 25 He took the path that winded to the cave. Large was the grot in which the nymph he found, (The fair-hair'd nymph with every beauty crown'd) She sat and sung ; the rocks resound her lays : The cave was brightenM with a rising blaze : 30 Cedar and frankincense, an odorous pile. Flamed on the hearth, and wide perfumed the isle, 96 THE ODYSSEY While she with work and song the time divides, And through the loom the golden shuttle guides. Without the grot, a various sylvan scene Appear'd around, and groves of living green ; Poplars and alders ever quivering play'd, 5 And nodding cypress form'd a fragrant shade ; On ^Yhose high branches, waving with the storm, The l)irds of broadest wing their mansion form, The chough, the sea-mew, the loquacious crow^, And scream aloft, and skini the deeps below. lo Depending vines the shelving cavern screen, With purple clusters blushing through the green. Four limpid fountains from the clefts distil. And every fountain pours a several rill. In mazy windings wandering down the hill : 15 Where bloom}^ meads with vivid greens w'ere crown'd. And glowing violets threw" odours round A scene, wiiere, if a god should cast his sight, A god might gaze, and wander with delight ! Joy touch'd the messenger of heaven : he stay'd 20 Entranced, and all the blissful haunt survey'd. Him, entering in the cave. Calypso knew ; For powers celestial to each other's view^ Stand still confess'd, though distant far they lie To habitants of earth, or sea, or sky. 25 But sad Ulysses, by himself apart, Pour'd the big sorrow^s of his swelling heart ; All on the lonely shore he sat to w^eep. And roll'd his ej^es around the restless deep ; Tow^ard his loved coast he roll'd his eyes in vain, 30 Till, dimm'd with rising grief, they stream'd again. Now graceful seated on her shining throne. THE DEPARTURE OF ULYSSES FROM CALYPSO 97 To Hermes thus the nymph divine begun : "God of the golden wand ! on what behest Arrivest thou here, an unexpected guest ? Loved as thou art, thy free injunctions lay ; 'Tis mine, with jo}^ and duty to obey. 5 Till now a stranger, in a happ}^ hour Approach, and taste the dainties of my bower." Thus ha^^ng spoke, the nymph the table spread : (Ambrosial cates, -with nectar rosy-red) Hermes the hospitable rite partook, lo Divine refection ! then, recruited, spoke. "What moved this journey from my native sky, A goddess asks, nor can a god deny ; Hear then the truth : By mighty Jove's command. Unwilling, have I trod this pleasing land ; is For who, self-moved, with weary wing would sweep Such length of ocean and unmeasured deep ; A v\'Orld of waters ! far from all the w^ays Where men frequent, or sacred altars blaze ? But to Jove's ^\dll submission we must pay ; 20 What power so great, to dare to disobey ? A man, he says, a man resides with thee. Of all his kind most worn with misery. The Greeks (whose arms for nine long years employ'd Their force on Ilion, in the tenth destroj^'d) 25 At length embarking in a luckless hour. With conquest proud, incensed Minerva's power : Hence on the guilty race her vengeance hurl'd With storms pursued them through the liquid world. There all his vessels sunk beneath the wave ! 30 There all his dear companions found their grave ! Saved from the jaws of death by heaven's decree, 98 THE ODYSSEY The tempest drove him to these shores and thee. Him, Jove now orders to his native lands Straight to dismiss : so destiny commands : Impatient fate his near return attends, And calls him to his country, and his friends." S Even to her imnost soul the goddess shook ; Then thus her anguish and her passion broke : ''Ungracious gods ! with spite and envy curst ! Still to 3^our own ethereal race the worst ! Ye envy mortal and immortal joy, lo And love, the only sweet of hfe, destroy. Did ever goddess by her charms engage A favoured mortal, and not feel your rage ? So when Aurora sought Orion's love, Her joys disturb 'd your blissful hours above, is Till in Ortj^'gia, Dian's winged dart Had pierced the hapless hunter to the heart. So when the covert of the thrice-ear'd field Saw stately Ceres to her passion yield, Scarce could lasion taste her heavenly charms, 20 But Jove's swift lightning scorch'd him in her arms. And is it now my turn, ye mighty powers ! Am I the enw of your blissful bowers ? A man, an outcast to the storm and wave. It was my crime to pity, and to save, - 25 When he who thunders rent his bark in twain, And sunk his brave companions in the main. Alone, abandoned, in mid-ocean toss'd. The sport of winds, and driven from every coast, Hither this man of miseries I led, 30 Received the friendless, and the hungry fed ; Nay promised (vainly promised !) to bestow THE DEPARTURE OF ULYSSES FROM CALYPSO 99 Immortal life, exempt from age and woe. 'Tis past — and Jove decrees he shall remove ; Gods as we are, we are but slaves to Jove. Go then he ma}^ ; (he must, if he ordain, Try all those dangers, all those deeps, again) $ But never, never shall Calj^pso send To toils like these her husband and her friend. What ships have I, what sailors to conve}' , What oars to cut the long laborious way ? Yet, I'll direct the safest means to go : lo That last advice is all I can bestow." To her, the power who bears the charming rod : "Dismiss the man, nor irritate the god ; Prevent the rage of him who reigns above, For what so dreadful as the wrath of Jove ?" 15 Thus having said, he cut the cleaving sky, And in a moment vanish'ci from her eye. The nj^mph, obedient to divine command. To seek Ulysses, paced along the sand : Him pensive on the lonely beach she found, 20 With streaming eyes in briny torrents drowu'd, And inly pining for his native shore ; For now the soft enchantress pleased no more ; For now, reluctant, and constrain 'd by charms, Absent he lay in her desiring arms, 25 In slumber wore the heavy night away. On rocks and shores consumed the tedious day ; There sat all desolate, and sigh'd alone. With echoing sorrows made the mountains groan, And roird his ej^es o'er all the restless main, 30 Till, dimm'd with rising grief, they stream'd again Here, on the musing mood the goddess press'd, THE ODYSSEY Approaching soft ; and thus the chief address'd : '^ Unhappy man ! to wasting woes a prey, No more in sorrows languish hfe away : Free as the winds I give thee now to rove — Go, fell the timber of yon lofty grove, 5 And form a raft, and build the rising ship, Sublime° to bear thee o'er the gloomy deep. To store the vessel let the care be mine. With w^ater from the rock, and rosj- wine. And life-sustaining bread, and fair array, lo And prosperous gales to v»'aft thee on the way. These if the gods, with my desires comply, (The gods alas ! more mighty far than I, And better skill'd in dark events to come) In peace shall land thee at thy native home." 15 With sighs Ulysses heard the words she spoke, Then thus liis melancholy silence broke : "Some other motive, goddess ! sways thj^ mind. Some close design, or turn of womankind ; Nor my return tl>e end, nor this the way, 20 On a slight raft to pass the sv/elling sea, Huge, horrid, vast ! where scarce in safety sails The best-built ship, though Jove inspire the gales. The bold proposal how shall I fulfil ; Dark as I am, unconscious of thy will ? 25 Swear then, thou mean'st not what my soul forbodes, Swear by the solemn oath that binds the gods !" Him, while he spoke, with smiles Calypso eyed, And gently grasp'd his hand, and thus replied : "This shows thee, friend, by old experience taught, 30 And learn'd in all the vv'iles of human thought. How prone to doubt, how cautious are the wise ! THE DEPARTURE OF ULYSSES FROM CALYPSO 101 But hear, 0 earth, and hear, ye sacred skies ! And thou, O Styx° ! whose formidable floods GHde through the shades, and bind the attesting gods ! No form'd design, no meditated end Lurks in the counsel of thj^ faitliful friend ; 5 Kind the persuasion, and sincere my aim ; The same my practice, were my fate the same. Heaven has not cursed me with a heart of steel, But given the sense, to pity, and to feel." Thus having said, the goddess march'd before : lo He trod her footsteps in the sandy shore. At the cool cave arrived, they took their state ; He fiird the throne where Mercury had sate ; For him the n3Tiiph a rich repast ordains, Such as the mortal hfe of man sustains ; 15 Before herself were placed the cates divine, Ambrosial banquet, and celestial wine. Their hunger satiate, and their thirst repress'd, Thus spoke Calj^pso to her godlike guest : "Ulysses ! (with a sigh she thus began) 20 0 sprung from gods ! in wisdom more than man ! Is then thy home the passion of thy heart ? Thus wilt thou leave me, are we thus to part ? Farewell ! and ever joyful may'st thou be, Xor break the transport with one thought of me. 25 But ah, Ulysses ! wert thou given to know What fate yet dooms thee, yet, to undergo ; Thy heart might settle in this scene of ease, And even these slighted charms might learn to please. A willing goddess, and immortal life, 30 Might banish from thy mind an absent wife. Am I inferior to a mortal dame ? 102 THE ODYSSEY Less soft m}^ feature, less august my frame ? Or shall the daughters of manldnd compare Their earth-born beauties vrith the heavenly fair?" "Alas ! for this (the prudent man replies) Against Ulysses shall thy anger rise ? 5 Loved and adored, 0 goddess ! as thou art, Forgive the weakness of a human heart. Though well I see thy graces far above The dear, though mortal, object of my love, Of 3^outh eternal well the difference know, 10 And the short date of fading charms below ; Yet everj^ day, wliile absent thus I roam, I languish to return, and die at home. Whatever the gods shall destme me to bear In the black ocean, or the watery war, 15 'Tis mine to master with a constant mind ; Inured to perils, to the worst resign'd. By seas, by wars, so many dangers run ; Still I can suffer : their high will be done !" Thus while he spoke, the l^eamy sun descends, 20 And rising night her friendly shade extends. Wlien rosy morning calFd them from their rest, Ulysses robed him in the cloak and vest. The nymph's fair head a veil transparent graced ; Her swelling loins a radiant zone embraced 25 With flowers of gold : an under robe, unbound. In snoviy waves flow'd glittering on the ground. Forth issuing thus, she gave him first to wield A weight}^ axe, with truest temper steel'd. And double-edged ; the handle smooth and plain, 30 Wrought of the clouded oKve's easy grain ; And next, a wedge to drive with sweepy sway : THE DEPARTURE OF ULYSSES FROM CALYPSO 103 Then to the neighbouring forest led the way. On the lone island's utmost verge there stood Of poplars, pines, and firs, a lofty wood. Whose leafless summits to the skies aspire, Scorch'd by the sun, or sear'd by heavenly fire : 5 (Already dried.) These pointing out to view. The nymph just show'd him, and with tears withdrew. Now toils the hero ; trees on trees o'erthrown Fall crackling round him, and the forests groan : Sudden, full twenty on the plain are strow'd, lo And lopp'd and hghten'd of their branchy load. At equal angles these disposed to join. He smoothed and squared them, by the rule and line. (The wimbles for the work Calj'pso found) With those he pierced them, and with chnchers bound. 15 Long and capacious as a shipwright forms Some bark's broad bottom to outride the storms, So large he built the raft : then ribb'd it strong From space to space, and nail'd the planks along ; These form'd the sides : the deck he fashion'd last : 20 Then o'er the vessel raised the taper mast. With crossing sail-j^ards dancing in the wind ; And to the helm the guiding rudder join'd, (With yielding osiers fenced, to break the force Of surging waves, and steer the steady course.) 25 Thy loom. Calypso ! for the future sails Supplied the cloth, capacious of the gales. With stays and cordage last he rigg'd the ship, And, roll'd on levers, launch'd her in the deep. Four days were past, and now, the work complete, 30 Shone the fifth morn : when from her sacred seat The n3TTiph dismiss'd him, (odorous garments given) 104 THE ODYSSEY And bathed in fragrant oils that breathed of heaven ; Then fill'd two goat-skins with her hands divine, With water one, and one with sable \sdne ; Of every kind, provisions heaved aboard ; And the full decks with copious viands stored. 5 The goddess, last, a gentle breeze supplies, To curl old ocean, and to v/arm the skies. And now rejoicing in the prosperous gales, With beating heart Ulysses spreads his sails ; Placed at the helm he sat^and mark'd the skies, lo Nor closed in sleep his ever-watchful eyes. There view'd the Pleiads, and the northern team, And great Orion's more refulgent beam, To which, around the axle of the sky The Bear revolving, points his golden ej^e : 15 Who shines exalted on the ethereal plain. Nor bathes his blazing forehead in the main. Far on the left those radiant fires to keep The nymph directed, as he sail'd the deep. Full seventeen nights he cut the foam}^ way ; 20 The distant land appear'd the following day : Then swell'd to sight Phseacia's° dusky coast, And woody mountains, half in vapours lost ; That la.v before him, indistinct and vast, Like a broad shield amid the waterj^ waste. 25 But him, thus voA^aging the deeps below, From far, on Sobmie's aerial brow. The king of Ocean° saw, and seeing burn'd : (From Ethiopia's happy climes return'd) The raging monarch shook his azure head, 30 And thus in secret to his soul he said : "Heavens ! how uncertain are the powers on high ! i THE DEPARTURE OF ULYSSES FROM CALYPSO 105 Is then reversed the sentence of the sky, In one man's favour ; while a distant guest I shared secure the Ethiopian feast ? Behold how near Phseacia's land he draws ! The land, affix'd b}^ fate's eternal laws 5 To end his toils. Is then our anger vain ? No ; if this sceptre yet commands the main." He spoke, and high the forky trident hurl'd, Rolls clouds on clouds, and stirs the watery world, At once the face of earth and sea deforms, ic Swells all the winds, and rouses all the storms. Down rush'd the night ; east, west together roar ; And south, and north, roll mountains to the shore, Then shook the hero, to despair resign'd. And question'd thus his yet unconquer'd mind : 15 "Wretch that I am ! what farther fates attend This life of toils, and what my destined end ? Too well, alas ! the island goddess knew On the black sea what perils should ensue. New horrors now this destined head enclose ; 20 UnfiU'd is yet the measure of my woes ; With what a cloud the brows of heaven are crown'd ! What raging ^dnds ! what roaring waters round ! 'Tis Jove himself the swelling tempest rears ; Death, present death, on every side appears. 25 Happy ! thrice happy ! who, in battle slain, Press'd, in Atrides' cause, the Trojan plain : Oh ! had I died before that well-fought wall ; Had some distinguish'd day renown'd my fall ; (Such as was that, when showers of javelins fled 30 From conquering Troy around Achilles dead) All Greece had paid me solemn funerals then, 106 THE ODYSSEY And spread my glory with the sons of men. A shameful fate now hides my hapless head, Unwept, unnoted, and for ever dead !" A mighty wave rush'd o'er him as he spoke, The raft it cover'd, and the mast it broke ; $ Swept from the deck, and from the rudder torn, Far on the swelling surge the chief was borne : While b}' the howling tempest rent in twain Flew sail and sail-yards ratthng o'er the main. Long press'd, he heaved beneath the weighty wave, lo Clogg'd by the cumbrous vest Calj'pso gave : At length emerging, from his nostrils wide And gushing mouth, effused the briny tide ; Even then not mindless of his last retreat, He seized the raft, and leap'd into his seat, 15 Strong with the fear of death. The rolhng flood Now here, now there, impell'd the floating wood. As when a heap of gather'd thorns is cast, Now to, now fro, before the autumnal blast ; Together clung, it rolls around the field ; 20 So roU'd the float, and so its texture held : And now the south, and now the north, bear sway, And now the east the foamy floods obey. And now the west \\dnd whirls it o'er the sea. The wandering chief, with toils on toils oppress'd, 25 Leucothea saw, and pity touch'd her breast : (HerseK a mortal once, of Cadmus' strain. But now an azure sister of the main) Swift as a sea-mew springing from the flood, All radiant on the raft the goddess stood ; 30 Then thus address'd him : ''Thou, whom heaven decrees To Neptune's wrath, stern tyrant of the seas, THE DEPARTURE OF ULYSSES FROM CALYPSO 107 (Unequal contest !) not his rage and power, Great as he is, such virtue shall devour. What I suggest thy wisdom will perform : Forsake thy float, and leave it to the storm ; Strip off thy garments ; Neptune's fury brave 5 With naked strength, and plunge into the wave. To reach Phseacia all thy nerves extend : There fate decrees thy miseries shall end. This heavenly scarf beneath th}^ bosom bind, And live ; give all thy terrors to the w^ind. 10 Soon as thy arms the happy shore shall gain, Return the gift, and cast it in the main ; Observe my orders, and with heed obey. Cast it far olT, and turn thy eyes away." With that, her hand the sacred veil bestows, 15 Then down the deeps she dived from whence she rose ; A moment snatch'd the shining form away, And all was covered with the cm^ling sea. Struck with amaze, yet still to doubt inclined, He stands suspended, and explores his mind. 20 "What shall I do ? Unhappy me ! who knows But other gods intend me other woes ? Whoe'er thou art, I shall not bhndly join Thy pleaded reason, but consult with mine : For scarce in ken appears that distant isle 25 Thy voice foretells me shall conclude my toil. Thus then I judge : while 3'et the planks sustain The wild waves' fury, here I fix'd remain ; But when their texture to the tempest yields, I launch adventurous on the liquid fields, 30 Join to the help of gods the strength of man. And take this method, since the best I can." 108 THE ODYSSEY While thus his thoughts an anxious council hold, The raging god a watery mountain roll'd ; Like a black sheet the whelming billows spread, Burst o'er the float, and thunder'd on his head. Planks, beams, disparted fly : the scatter' d wood 5 Rolls diverse, and in fragments strows the flood. So the rude Boreas, o'er the field new-shorn. Tosses and drives the scatter'd heaps of corn. And now a single beam the chief bestrides ; There, poised awhile above the bounding tides, lo His limbs discumbers of the clinging vest. And binds the sacred cincture round his breast : Then prone on ocean in a moment flung, Stretch'd wide his eager arms, and shot the seas along. All naked now, on heaving billows laid, 15 Stern Xeptune eyed him, and contemptuous said : "Go, learn'd in woes, and other w^oes essay ! Go, wander helpless on the waterj^ wa}^ : Thus, thus find out the destined shore, and then (If Jove ordains it) mix with happier men. 20 Whate'er thy fate, the ills our wTath could raise Shall last remember'd in thy best of days." This said, his sea-green steeds divide the foam, And reach high ^Egse and the towery dome. Now, scarce withdrawn the fierce earth-shaking power, 25 Jove's daughter, Pallas, watch'd the favouring hour. Back to their caves she bade the winds to fly. And hush'd the blustering brethren of the sky. The drier blasts alone of Boreas sway. And bear him soft on broken waves away ; 30 With gentle force impelling to that shore Where fate has destined he shall toil no more. THE DEPARTURE OF ULYSSES FROM CALYPSO 109 And now two nights, and now two days were past, Since wide he wander'd on the watery waste ; Heaved on the surge with intermitting breath, And hourly panting in the arms of death : The third fair morn now blazed upon the main ; 5 Then glassy smooth lay all the liquid plain, The winds were hush'd, the billows scarcely curl'd. And a dead silence still'd the v\'atery world. \\Tien, lifted on a ridgy wave, he spies The land at distance, and with sharpened eyes. 10 As pious children joy with vast delight When a loved sire revives before their sight, (Who lingering long has calFd on death in vain, Fix'd by some demon to the bed of pain, Till heaven by miracle his life restore) 15 So joys Ulysses at the appearing shore ; And sees (and labours onward as he sees) The rising forests, and the tufted trees. And now^, as near approaching as the sound Of human voice the listening ear may wound, 20 Amidst the rocks he hears a hollow roar Of m.urmuring surges breaking on the shore : Nor peaceful port was there, nor winding bay. To shield the vessel from the rolling sea, But cliffs, and shaggy shores, a dreadful sight ! 25 All rough mth rocks, with foamy billows white. Fear seized his slacken'd lim.bs and beating heart, As thus he communed with his soul apart : "Ah me ! when o'er a length of waters toss'd. These eyes at last behold the unhoped-for coast, 3a No port receives me from the angry miain. But the loud deeps demand me back again. 110 THE ODYSSEY Above sharp rocks forbid access ; around Roar the wild waves : beneath, is sea profound ! No footing sure affords the faitliless sand, To stem too rapid, and too deep to stand. If here I enter, ni}^ efforts are vain, 5 Dash'd on the chffs, or heaved into the main. Or round the island if my course I bend, Vrhere the ports open, or the shores descend, Back to the seas the rolling surge may sweep, And bury all my hopes beneath the deep : 10 Or some enormous whale the god may send (For many such on Amphitrite° attend :) Too well the turns of mortal chance I know, And hate relentless of m\" heavenly foe." While thus he thought, a monstrous wave up-bore 15 The chief, and dash'd him on the craggy shore : Torn was his skin, nor had the ribs been whole, But instant Pallas enter 'd in his soul. Close to the cliff with both his hands he clung, And stuck adherent, and suspended hung ; 20 Till the huge surge roll'd off ; then, backward sweep The refluent tides, and plunge liim in the deep. As when the polypus, from forth his cave Torn v\ith full force, reluctant beats the wave ; His ragged claws are stuck with stones and sands : 25 So the rough rock had shagg'd Uh'sses' hands. And now had perish'd, whelm'd beneath the main, The unhapp3' man ; even fate had been in vain : But all-subduing Pallas lent her power. And prudence saved him in the needful hour. 30 Bej'ond the beating surge his course he bore, (A wider circle, but in sight of shore) THE DEPARTURE OF ULYSSES FROM CALYPSO 111 With longing eyes, observing, to survey Some smooth ascent, or safe-sequester'd bay. Between the parting rocks at leng-th he spied A falling stream with gentler waters glide ; Where to the seas the shelving shore declined, 5 And form'd a ba}^, impervious to the wind. To this calm port tfie glad Ulysses press'd. And hail'd the river, and its god address'd : "Whoe'er thou art, before whose streams unknown I bend, a suppliant at thy watery throne, lo Hear, azure king ! nor let me fly in vain To thee from Neptune and the raging main. Heaven hears and pities hapless men like me. For sacred even to gods is misery : Let then thy waters give the wear}^ rest, 15 And save a suppliant, and a man distressed." He pray'd, and straight the gentle stream subsides, Detains the rushing current of his tides. Before the wanderer smooths the watery way, And soft receives him from the rolling sea. 20 That moment, fainting as he touch'd the shore, He dropp'd his sinewy arms : his knees no more Perform'd their ofhce, or his weight upheld : His swoln heart heaved ; his bloated body swell'd : From mouth and nose the l^rin}^ torrent ran ; 25 And lost in lassitude lay all the man. Deprived of voice, of motion, and of breath ; The soul scarce waking, in the arms of death. Soon as warm life its wonted office found, The mindful chief Leucothea's scarf unbound ; 30 Observant of her word, he turned aside His head, and cast it on the rolling tide. 112 THE ODYSSEY Behind him far, upon the purple waves The waters waft it, and the nj-mph receives. Now parting from the stream, Ulj^sses found A moss3^ bank with pliant rushes crown'd ; The bank he press'd, and gently kiss'd the ground ; s Where on the flower}^ herb as soft he lay, Thus to his soul the sage began to say : ''\Yhat will ye next ordain, ye powers on high ! And yet, ah yet, what fates are we to try? Here by the stream, if I the night outwear, lo Thus spent already, how shall nature bear The dews descending, and nocturnal air ; Or chilh^ vapours, breathing from the flood When morning rises ? — If I take the wood. And in thick shelter of innumerous bouglis 15 Enjoy the comfort gentle sleep allows ; Though fenced from cold, and though my toil be pass'd. What savage beasts may wander in the waste ! Perhaps I yet may fall a bloody pre}' To prowhng bears, or lions in the way." 20 Thus long debating in himself he stood : At length he took the passage to the wood. Whose shad}^ horrors on a rising brow Waved high, and frown'd upon the stream below. There grew two ohves, closest of the grove, 25 With roots entwined, and branches interwove ; Ahke their leaves, but not ahke they smiled With sister-fruits ; one fertile, one was wild. Nor here the sun's meridian raj^s had power. Nor ^dnd sharp piercing, nor the rushing shower ; 30 The verdant arch so close its texture kept : Beneath this covert, great Ulj^sses crept. THE DEPARTURE OF ULYSSES FROM CALYPSO 113 Of gather'd leaves an ample bed he made, (Thick strown by tempest through the bowery shade) Where three at least might winter's cold defy, Though Boreas raged along the inclement sky. This store, with joy the patient hero found, 5 And, sunk amidst them, heap'd the leaves around. As some poor peasant, fated to reside Remote from neighbours in a forest wide. Studious to save what human wants require, In embers heap'd preserves the seeds of fire : 10 Hid in drj^ foliage thus Ul3^sses lies, Till Pallas pour'd soft slumbers on his eyes ; And golden dreams (the gift of sweet repose) Luird all his cares, and banish'd all his woes. BOOK Yl ARGUMENT NAUSICAA AND ULYSSES Pallas appearing in a dream to Xausicaa (the daughter of Alcinous king of Phaeacia) commands her to descend to the river, and wash the robes of state, in preparation for her nuptials. Nausicaa goes with her handmaids to the river ; where, while the garments are spread on the bank, they divert themselves in sports. Their voices awake Ulysses, who, addressing loimself to the princess, is by her relieved and clothed, and receives directions in what manner to apply to the king and queen of the island. While thus the wearj- wanderer sunk to rest, And peaceful slumbers calm'd his anxious breast, The martial maid° from heaven's aerial height Swift to Phaeacia wing'd her rapid flight. In elder times the soft Phceacian train 5 In ease possessed the wide Hyperian plain ; Till the Cyclopean race in arms arose, A lawless nation of gigantic foes ; Then great Nausithous from Hj^peria far, Through seas retreating from the sound of war, lo The recreant nation to fair Scheria led, Where never science rear'd her laurel'd head : There, round his tribes a strength of wall he raised ; 114 NAUSICAA AND ULYSSES 115 To heaven the ghttering domes and temples blazed ; Just to his realms, he parted grounds from grounds, And shared the lands, and gave the lands their bounds. Now in the silent grave the monarch lay, And wise Alcinous held the regal sway. • 5 To his high palace through the fields of air The goddess shot : Ulysses was her care. There as the night in silence roll'd away, A heaven of charms divine Nausicaa lay : Through the thick gloom the shining portals blaze : lo Two nymphs the portals guard, each nymph a grace. Light as the viewless air, the warrior-maid Glides through the valves, ° and hovers round her head ; A favourite virgin's blooming form she took. From Dymas sprung, and thus the vision spoke : 15 ^'Oh indolent ! to waste thy hours away ! And sleep'st thou careless of the bridal day ? Thy spousal ornament neglected lies ; Arise, prepare the bridal train, arise ! A just applause the cares of dress impart, 20 And give soft transport to a parent's heart. Haste, to the limpid stream direct thy way, When the gay morn unveils her smiling ray : Haste to the stream ! companion of thy care, Lo, I thy steps attend, thy labours share. 25 Virgin, awake ! the m^arriage hour is nigh, See ! from their thrones thy kindred monarchs sigh ! The royal car at early dawn obtain. And order mules obedient to the rein ; For rough the way, and distant rolls the wave, 30 Where their fair vests° Pha?acian virgins lave. In pomp ride forth ; for pomp becomes the great. 116 THE ODYSSEY And majesty derives a grace from state." Then to the palaces of heaven she sails, Incumbent on the wings of wafting gales : The seat of gods ! the regions mild of peace, Full joy, and calm eternity of ease. 5 There no rude winds presume to shake the skies, No rains descend, no snow}" vapours rise ; But on immortal tlirones the bless'd repose ; The firmament with living splendours glows. Hither the goddess wing'd the aerial wa}^, 10 Through heaven's eternal gates that blazed with day. Now from her rosy car Aurora shed The dawn, and all the orient flamed with red. Uprose the virgin with the morning light, Obedient to the vision of the night. 15 The queen she sought : the queen her hours bestow'd In curious° works ; the whirling spindle glow'd With crimson threads, while busj^ damsels cull The snowy fleece, or twist the purpled wool. Meanwhile Phseacia's peers in council sat : 20 From his high dome the king descends in state, Then with a filial awe the royal maid Approach'd him passing, and submissive said : ''Will m}' dread sire his ear regardful deign. And may his child the royal car obtain ? 25 Say, with thy garments shall I bend my way Where through the vales the mazy waters stray ? A dignity of dress adorns the great. And kings draw lustre from the robe of state. Five sons thou hast : three wait the bridal day, 30 And spotless robes become the young and gay. So when with praise amid the dance they shine NAUSICAA AND ULYSSES 117 By these m}^ cares adorn'd, that praise is mine." Thus she: but blushes, ill-restrain'd, betray Her thoughts intentive° on the bridal day. The conscious sire the dawning blush surveyed, And smiling thus bespoke the blooming maid :' 5 "My child, my darling joy, the car receive ; That, and whatever our daughter asks, we give." Swift at the royal nod the attending train The car prepare, the mules incessant rein. The blooming virgin wth dispatchful cares 10 Tunics, and stoles, and robes imperial bears. The queen, assiduous, to her train assigns The sumptuous viands, and the flavorous ^dnes. The train prepare a cruise° of curious mould, A cruise of fragrance, form'd of burnish'd gold ; 15 Odour divine! whose soft refreshing streams Sleek the smooth skin, and scent the snow limbs Now mounting the gay seat, the silken reins Shine m her hand : along the sounding plains Sy\ift fly the mules : nor rode the nymph alone ; 20 Around, a bevy of bright damsels shone. They seek the cisterns where Ph£eacian dames Wash their fair garments in the limpid streams; \Vhere, gathering into depth from falling rills, The lucid wave a spacious bason fills. The mules unharness'd range beside the main, Or crop the verdant herbage of the plain. Then emulous the royal robes they lave. And plunge the vestures in the cleansing wave : (The vestures cleansed o'erspread the sheUy sand Their snov^^y lustre whitens all the strand.) Then with a short repast relieve their toil 25 30 118 THE ODYSSEl And o'er their limbs diffuse ambrosial oil ; And while the robes imbibe the solar ray, O'er the green mead the sporting virgins play (Their shining veils unbound). Along the skies Toss'd, and retoss'd, the ball incessant flies. 5 They sport, they feast ; Nausicaa lifts her voice, And warbling sweet, makes earth and heaven rejoice. As when o'er Erymanth Diana° roves. Or wide Taygetus' resounding groves ; A sylvan train the huntress queen surrounds, lo Her rattling quiver from her shoulder sounds ; Fierce in the sport, along the mountain's brow They bay the boar, or chase the bounding roe : High o'er the lawn, ^sath more majestic pace. Above the n^onphs she treads ^yith. stately grace : 15 Distinguish'd excellence the goddess proves ; Exults Latona, as the virgin moves. With equal grace Nausicaa trod the plain, And shone transcendent o'er the beauteous train. Meantime (the care and favourite of the skies) 20 Wrapt in embowering shade, Uh^'sses lies, His woes forgot ! but Pallas now address 'd To break the bands of all-composing rest. Forth from her snowy hand Xausicaa threw The various ball ; the ball erroneous flew, 25 And swam the stream : loud shrieks the virgin train. And the loud shriek redoubles from the main. Waked by the shrilling sound, Ulysses rose. And to the deaf woods, wailing, breathed his woes : " Ah me ! on what inhospitable coast, 30 On what new region is Ulysses toss'd : Possess 'd by wild barbarians fierce in arms ; NAUSICAA AND ULYSSES 119 Or men whose bosom tender pity warms ? What sounds are these that gather from the shore ; The voice of nymphs that haunt the sylvan bowers, The fair-hair'd Dryads ° of the shady wood, Or azure daughters of the silver flood ; s Or human voice ? but issuing from the shades, Why cease I straight to learn what sound invades ?" Then, where the grove with leaves umbrageous bends, With forceful strength a branch the hero rends ; Around his loins the verdant cincture spreads lo A ^vreathy foliage and concealing shades. As when a lion in the midnight hours, Beat by rude blasts, and wet with wintry showers, Descends terrific from the mountain's brow : With li\dng flames his rolling eyeballs grow ; is With conscious strength elate, he bends his way Majestically fierce, to seize his prey (The steer or stag) ; or with keen hunger bold Springs o'er the fence, and dissipates the fold. No less a terror, from the neighbouring groves 20 (Rough from the tossing surge) Ulysses moves ; Urged on b}^ want, and recent from the storms ; The brackish ooze his manly grace deforms. Wide o'er the shore with many a piercing cry To rocks, to caves, the frighted virgins fly ; 25 All but the nymph° : the nymph stood fix'd alone. By Pallas arm'd with boldness not her own. Meantime in dubious thought the king awaits. And self-considering, as he stands, debates ; Distant his mournful story to declare, 30 Or prostrate at her knee address the prayer But fearful to offend, by wisdom sway'd, 120 THE ODYSSEY At awful distance he accosts the maid : "If from the skies a goddess, or if earth (Imperial virgin) boast thy glorious birth, To thee I bend ! if in that bright disguise Thou visit earth, a daughter of the skies, S Hail, Dian, hail ! the huntress of the groves So shines majestic, and so stately moves. So breathes an air divine ! But if thy race Be mortal, and this earth thj^ native place, Bless'd is the father from whose loins j^ou sprung, lo Bless'd is the mother at whose breast you hung, Bless'd are the brethren who thy blood divide, To such a miracle of charms allied : Joyful they see applauding princes gaze, "When stately in the dance you s^^dm the harmonious maze. But bless'd o'er aU, the youth mth heavenly charms, i6 Who clasps the bright perfection in his arms ! Never, I never view'd tiU this bless'd hour Such finish'd grace ! I gaze and I adore ! Thus seems the palm with stately honours crowm'd 20 By Phoebus'° altars ; thus o'erlooks the ground ; The pride of Delos. (By the Delian coast I voyaged, leader of a warrior-host. But ah how changed ! from thence my sorrow flows ; 0 fatal voyage, source of all my woes !) .5 Raptured I stood, and as this hour amazed. With reverence at the lofty wonder gazed : Raptured I stand ! for earth ne'er knew to bear A plant so stately, or a njanph so fair. Awed from access, I lift my suppliant hands ; 30 For misery, 0 queen, before thee stands ! Twice ten tempestuous nights I roll'd, resign'd NAUSICAA AND ULYSSES 121 To roaring billows, and the warring wind ; Heaven bade the deep to spare ! but heaven, my foe, Spares only to inflict some mightier woe ! Inured to cares, to death in all its forms ; Outcast I rove, familiar with the storms ! S Once more I view the face of humankind : O let soft pity touch thy generous mind ! Unconscious of what air I breathe, I stand Naked, defenceless, on a foreign land. Propitious to my wants, a vest supply lo To guard the wretched from the inclement sky : So may the gods who heaven and earth control, Crown the chaste wishes of thy virtuous soul. On thy soft hours their choicest blessings shed ; Bless'd with a husband be thy bridal bed ; 15 Bless'd be thy husband with a blooming race, And lasting union crown your blissful days. The gods, when they supremely bless, bestow Firm union on their favourites below : Then envy grieves, with inly-pining hate ; 20 The good exult, and heaven is in our state." To whom the nymph : '^0 stranger, cease thy care. Wise is thy soul, but man is born to bear : Jove w^eighs affairs of earth in dubious scales, And the good suffers, while the bad prevails : 25 Bear, with a soul resign'd, the will of Jove ; Who breathes, must mourn : thy woes are from above. But since thou tread'st our hospitable shore, 'Tis mine to bid the wretched grieve no more. To clothe the naked, and thy way to guide — 30 Know, the Pha&acian tribes this land divide ; From great Alcinous' royal loins I spring, 122 THE ODYSSEY A happy nation, and a happy king." Then to her maids — " Wh}", wh}^ ye coward train, These fears, this flight ? ye fear and fly in vain. Dread ye a foe ? dismiss that idle dread, 'Tis death with hostile step these shores to tread : 5 Safe in the love of heaven, an ocean flov/s Ai'ound our realm, a barrier from the foes ; 'Tis ours tliis son of sorrow to relieve, Cheer the sad heart, nor let affliction grieve. B}^ Jove the stranger and the poor are sent, 10 And what to those we give, to Jove is lent. Then food supplj^ and bathe his fainting limbs Where waving shades obscure the mazy streams." Obedient to the call, the chief they guide To the calm current of the secret tide ; 15 Close by the stream a royal dress they lay, A vest and robe, with rich embroidery gay: Then unguents in a vase of gold supph^, That breathed a fragrance through the balm}^ sky. To them the king : ''No longer I detain 20 Your friendly care ; retire, ye \drgin train ! Retire, while from my wearied hmbs I lave The foul pollution of the briny wave : Ye gods ! since this worn frame refection knew, What scenes have I survey'd of dreadful view ! 25 But, nymphs, recede ! sage chastity denies To raise the blush, or pain the modest eyes." The nj^mphs withdrawn, at once into the tide Active he bounds : the flashing waves divide : O'er all his limbs his hands the wave diffuse, 30 And from his locks compress the weedy ooze ; The balmj^ oil, a fragrant shower, he sheds : NAUSICAA AND ULYSSES 123 Then, dress'd, in pomp magnificently treads. The warrior-goddess° gives his frame to shine With majesty enlarged, and air divine : Back from his brows a length of hair unfurls, His hyacinthine locks descend in wavy curls. 5 As by some artist to whom Vulcan° gives His skill divine, a breathing statue lives ; By Pallas taught, he frames the wondrous mould, And o'er the silver pours the fusil gold : So Pallas his heroic frame improves i& With heavenly bloom, and like a god he moves. A fragrance breathes around ; majestic grace Attends his steps : the astonish 'd virgins gaze. Soft he reclines along the murmuring seas. Inhaling freshness from the fanning breeze. 15 The wondering nymph his glorious port survey'd, And to her damsels, with amazement, said : "Not without care divine the stranger treads This land of joy : his steps some godhead leads : Would Jove destroy him, sure he had been driven 20 Far from this realm, the favourite isle of heaven. Late a sad spectacle of woe he trod The desert sands, and now he looks a god. 0 heaven ! in my connubial hour decree This man my spouse, or such a spouse as he ! 25 But haste, the viands and the bowl provide" — The maids the viands and the bowl supplied : Eager he fed, for keen his hunger raged. And with the generous vintage thirst assuaged. Now on return her care Nausicaa bends, 30 The robes resumes, the glittering car ascends. Far-blooming o'er the field : and as she press'd 124 THE ODYSSEY The splendid seat, the hstening chief address'd : "Stranger, arise ! the sun rolls down the day, Lo, to the palace I direct thy way : Where in high state the nobles of the land Attend my royal sire, a radiant band. S But hear, though wisdom in thy soul presides, Speaks from thy tongue, and ever}'- action guides : Advance at distance, while I pass the plain Where o'er the furrows waves the golden grain : Alone I reascend — With airy mounds lo A strength of wall the guarded city bounds : The jutting land two ample bays divides ; Full through the narrow mouths descend the tides : The spacious basons arching rocks enclose, A sure defence from every storm that blows. 15 Close to the bay great Neptune's fane adjoins; And near, a forum flank'd with marble shines. Where the bold youth, the numerous fleets to store, Shape the broad sail, or smooth the taper oar : For not the bow they bend, nor boast the skill 20 To give the feather'd arrow -udngs to kill ; But the tall mast above the vessel rear, Or teach the fluttering sail to float in air. They rush into the deep with eager joy, Climb the steep surge, and through the tempest fly ; 25 A proud, unpolish'd race — To me belongs The care to shun the blast of slanderous tongues ; Lest malice, prone the \drtuous to defame. Thus with. \i\e censure taint my spotless name : '\A^iat stranger this, whom thus Xausicaa leads? 30 Heavens ! "udth what graceful majesty he treads ! Perhaps a native of some distant shore, NAUSICAA AND ULYSSES 125 The future consort of her bridal hour ; Or, rather, some descendant of the skies ; Won by her prayer, the aerial bridegroom flies. Heaven on that hour its choicest influence shed, That gave a foreign spouse to crown her bed ! 5 All, all the godlike worthies that adorn This realm, she flies ; Phseacia is her scorn/ "And just the blame ; for female innocence Not only flies the guilt, but shuns the offence : The unguarded virgin, as unchaste, I blame ; 10 And the least freedom with the sex is shame, Till our consenting sires a spouse provide, And public nuptials justify the bride. ''But would'st thou soon review thy native plain? Attend, and speedy thou shalt pass the main : 15 Nigh where a grove, ^\^th verdant poplars crown'd. To Pallas sacred, shades the holy ground, We bend our way : a bubbling fount distils A lucid lake, and thence descends in rills ; Around the grove a mead with lively green 20 Falls by degrees, and forms a beauteous scene ; Here a rich juice the royal vineyard pours ; And there the garden yields a waste of flowers. Hence lies the towm, as far as to the ear Floats a strong shout along the waves of air. 25 There wait embower'd, while I ascend alone To great Alcinous on his royal throne. Arrived, advance impatient of dela}^. And to the lofty palace bend thy waj" : The lofty palace overlooks the town, 30 From every dome by pomp superior known ; A child may point the way. With earnest gait 126 THE ODYSSEY Seek thou the queen along the rooms of state ; Her royal hand a wondrous work designs ; Around a circle of bright damsels shines, Part twist the threads, and part the wool dispose, While with the purple orb the spindle glows. 5 High on a throne, amid the Scherian powers, M}^ royal father shares the genial hours ; But to the queen thy mournful tale disclose, With the prevailing eloquence of woes : So shalt thou view with joy thy natal shore, lo Though mountains rise between, and oceans roar." She added not, but waving as she wheel'd The silver scourge, it glitter'd o'er the field : With skill the virgin guides the embroider'd rein. Slow rolls the car before the attending train. i5 Now whirling down the heavens, the golden daj'' Shot through the western clouds a dewy ray ; The grove they reach, where from the sacred shade To Pallas thus the pensive hero pray'd : ''Daughter of Jove ! whose arms in thunder ^^^eld 20 The avenging bolt, and shake the dreadful shield ; Forsook by thee, in vain I sought thy aid When booming billows closed above my head : Attend, unconquer'd maid ; accord mj^ vows. Bid the great hear, and pitjdng heal my woes." 25 This heard Minerva, but forbore to fl}^ (By Neptune awed) apparent from the sky : Stern god ! who raged wath vengeance unrestrained, Till great Ul3''sses hail'd his native land. BOOK VII ARGUMENT THE COURT OF ALCINOUS The princess Nausicaa returns to the city, and Ulysses soon after follows thither. He is met by Pallas in the form of a young virgin, who guides him to the palace, and directs him in what manner to address the queen Arete. She then involves him in a mist, which causes him to pass invisible. The palace and gardens of Alcinous described. Ulysses falling at the feet of the queen, the mist disperses, the Phaeacians admire and receive him with respect. The queen inquiring by what means he had the garments he then wore, he relates to her and Alcinous his departure from Calypso, and his arrival on their dominions. The same day continues, and the book ends with the night. The patient heavenly man thus supphant pray'd ; While the slow mules draw on the imperial m.aid : Through the proud street she moves, the public gaze : The turning wheel before the palace stays. With ready love her brothers, gathering round, S Received the vestures, and the mules unbound. She seeks the bridal bower : a matron there The rising fire supplies with busy care, Whose charms in youth her father's heart inflamed, Now worn with age, Eurymedusa named : lo 127 128 THE ODYSSEY The captive dame Phseacian rovers bore, Snatch'd from Epirus, her sweet native shore, (A grateful prize) and in her bloom bestow'd On good Alcinous, honour'd as a god : Nurse of Xausicaa from her infant years, s And tender second to a mother's cares. Now from the sacred thicket where he lay- To to'^Ti Ulysses took the winding way. Propitious Pallas, to secure her care, Around him spread a veil of thicken'd air ; lo To shun the encounter of the \ailgar crowd, Insulting still, inquisitive and loud. When near the famed Phseacian walls he drew. The beauteous city opening to his view. His step a virgin met, and stood before : 15 A polish'd urn the seeming \irgin bore. And youthful smiled ; but in the low disguise Lay hid the goddess with the azure eyes.° ''Show me, fair daughter (thus the chief demands) The house of him who rules these happy lands. 20 Through many woes and wanderings, lo ! I come To good Alcinous' hospitable dome. Far from my native coast, I rove alone, A wretched stranger, and of all unknown !" The goddess answer'd : "Father, I obey, 25 And point the wandering traveller his way : Well known to me the palace you inquire. For fast beside it dwells my honour'd sire ; But silent march, nor greet the common train With question needless, or inquiry vain. 30 A race of rugged mariners are these ; Unpohsh'd men, and boisterous as their seas : THE COURT OF ALCINOUS 129 The native islanders alone their care, And hateful he that breathes a foreign air. These did the ruler of the deep ordain To build proud navies, and command the main ; On canvas wings to cut the watery way ; s No bird so light, no thought so swift as they." Thus having spoke, the unknown celestial leads : The footsteps of the deity he treads, And secret moves along the crowded space, Unseen of all the rude Phaeacian race. lo (So Pallas order'd, Pallas to their eyes The mist objected, and condensed the skies.) The chief with wonder sees the extended streets, The spreading harbours a.nd the riding fleets ; He next their princes' lofty domes admires, 15 In separate islands crown'd with rising spires ; And deep intrenchments, and high walls of stone. That gird the city like a marble zone. At length the kingly palace gates he view'd ; There stopp'dthe goddess, and her speech renew'd : 20 "My task is done ; the mansion 3^ou inquire Appears before you : enter, and admire. High-throned, and feasting, there thou shalt behold The sceptred rulers. Fear not, but be bold : A decent boldness ever meets with friends, 25 Succeeds, and even a stranger recommends. First to the queen prefer a suppliant's claim, Alcinous' queen. Arete is her name. The same her parents, and her power the same. For know, from Ocean's god Nausithous sprung, 30 And Peribsea, beautiful and young ; (Eurymedon's last hope, who ruled of old 130 THE ODYSSEY The race of giants, impious, proud, and bold : Perish'd the nation in unrighteous war, Perish'd the prince, and left this only heir) Who now by Neptune's amorous power compress'd, Produced a monarch that his people bless'd, 5 Father and prince of the Phseacian name ; From him Rhexenor and Alcinous came. The first by Phoebus' burning arrows fired, New from his nuptials, hapless youth ! expired. No son sur^dved : Arete heir'd his state, lo And her, Alcinous chose his royal mate. With honours yet to w^omankind unloiown, This queen he graces, and divides the throne : In equal tenderness her sons conspire, And all the children emulate their sire. 15 When through the street she gracious deigns to move, (The public wonder, and the public love) The tongues of all, with transport sound her praise, The eyes of all, as on a goddess, gaze. She feels the triumph of a generous breast, 20 To heal divisions, to relieve the oppressed ; In virtue rich ; in blessing others, bless'd. Go then secure, thy humble suit prefer. And owe thy country and thy friends to her." With that the goddess deign'd no longer stay, 25 But o'er the world of waters wing'd her way: Forsaking Scheria's ever-pleasing shore. The winds to Marathon the virgin bore ; Thence, where proud Athens° rears her towery head. With opening streets and shining structures spread, 30 She pass'd, delighted with the well-known seats ; And to Erectheus' sacred dome retreats. THE COURT OF ALCINOUS 131 Meanwhile Ulysses at the palace waits, There stops, and anxious with his soul debates, Fix'd in amaze before the royal gates. The front appeared with radiant splendours gay, Bright as the lamp of night, or orb of day. 5 The walls were massj^ brass : the cornice high Blue metals crown'd, in colours of the sky : Rich plates of gold the folding-doors incase ; The pillars silver, on a brazen base ; Silver, the lintels deep projecting o'er, lo And gold, the ringlets" that command the door. Two rows of stately dogs, on either hand. In sculptured gold and labour'd silver stand. These Vulcan form'd with art divine, to wait Immortal guardians at Alcinous' gate ; 15 Alive each animated frame appears. And still to live bej^ond the power of years. Fair thrones within from space to space were raised. Where various carpets with embroidery blazed, The work of matrons : these the princes press'd, 20 Da}^ follo^dng day, a long-continued feast. Refulgent pedestals the walls surround, Which boys of gold with flaming torches crown' d ; The polish'd ore, reflecting every ray. Blazed on the banquets with a double day. 25 Full fifty handmaids form the household train ; Some turn the mill, or sift the golden grain ; Some ply the loom ; their busy fingers move Like poplar leaves, when Zephyr fans the grove. Not more renown'd the men of Scheria's isle, 30 For sailing arts and all the naval toil, Than works of female skill their women's pride, 132 THE ODYSSEY The fl3dng shuttle through the threads to guide : Pallas to these her double gifts imparts, Inventive genius, and industrious arts. Close to the gates a spacious garden lies, From storms defended, and inclement skies. S Four acres was the allotted space of ground, Fenced wdth a green enclosure all around ; Tall thri^dng trees confess'd the fruitful mould ; The reddening apple ripens here to gold : Here the blue fig with luscious juice o'erfiows, lo With deeper red the full pomegranate glows, The branch here bends beneath the weighty pear. And verdant olives flourish round the year. The balmy spirit of the western gale Eternal breathes on fruits untaught to fail : is Each dropping pear a following pear supplies, On apples apples, figs on figs arise : The same mild season gives the blooms to blow, The buds to harden, and the fruits to grow. Here order'd vines in equal ranks appear, 20 With all the united labours of the year : Some to unload the fertile branches run, Some dry the blackening clusters in the sun, Others to tread the liquid harvest join, The groaning presses foam mth floods of wine. 25 Here are the vines in earl}^ flower descried, Here grapes discolour'd on the sunny side, And there in autumn's richest purple dyed. Beds of all various herbs, for ever green. In beauteous order terminate the scene. 30 Two plenteous fountains the whole prospect crown'd ; This through the gardens leads its streams around. THE COURT OF ALCINOUS 133 Visits each plant, and waters all the ground ; While that in pipes beneath the palace flows, And thence its current on the town bestows : To various use their various streams they bring, The people one, and one supphes the king. S Such were the glories which the gods ordain'd. To grace Alcinous, and his happy land ! Even from the chief, who men and nations knew, The unwonted scene surprise and rapture drew ; In pleasing thought he ran the prospect o'er, lo Then hasty enter'd at the lofty door. Xight now approaching, in the palace stand. With goblets crown'd, the rulers of the land ; Prepared for rest, and offering to the god Who bears the virtue of the sleepy rod. ~ 15 Unseen he ghded through the joyous crowd. With darkness circled, and an ambient cloud. Direct to great Alcinous' throne he came, And prostrate fell before the imperial dame. Then from around him dropp'd the veil of night ; 20 Sudden he shines, and manifest to sight. The nobles gaze, with awful fear oppress'd ; Silent they gaze, and eye the godlike guest. "Daughter of great Rhexenor ! (thus began, Low at her knees, the much-enduring man) 25 To thee, thy consort, and this royal train, To all that share the blessings of your reign, A suppliant bends ! 0 pity human woe ! 'Tis what the happy to the unhappj'- owe. A wretched exile to his country send, 30 Long worn with griefs, and long without a friend. So may the gods your better days increase, 134 THE ODYSSEY And all j^our joj^s descend on ail your race; So reign for ever on your countrj-'s breast, Your people blessing, by 3'our people bless'd !" Then to the genial hearth he bow'd his face, And humbled in the ashes took his place. 5 Silence ensued. The eldest first began, Echeneus sage, a venerable man ! Whose well-taught mind the present age surpass'd, And join'd to that the experience of the last. Fit words attended on his weighty sense, 10 And mild persuasion flow'd in eloquence. ''Oh sight, (he cried) dishonest and unjust ! A guest, a stranger, seated in the dust ! To raise the lowly supphant from the ground " Befits a monarch. Lo ! the peers around 15 But wait th}'- word, the gentle guest to grace, And seat him fair in some distinguish'd place. Let first the herald due hbation pay To Jove, who guides the wanderer on his wa}^ ; Then set the genial banquet in his view, 20 And give the stranger-guest a stranger's due." His sage advice the listening king obeys ; He stretch'd his hand the prudent chief to raise, And from his seat Laodamas removed, (The monarch's offspring, and his best beloved.) 25 There next his side the godlike hero sat ; With stars of silver shone the bed of state. The golden ewer a beauteous handmaid brings, Replenish'd from the cool translucent springs, Whose polish 'd vase v.ith copious stream supplies 30 A silver laver, of capacious size. The table next in regal order spread, THE COURT OF ALCINOUS 135 The glittering canisters are heap'd with bread: Viands of various kinds invite the taste, Of choicest sort and savour, rich repast ! Thus feasting high, Alcinous gave the sign. And bade the herald pour the rosy wine. S "Let all around the due libation pay To Jove, who guides the wanderer on his way." He said. Pontonus heard the king's command : The circling goblet moves from hand to hand : Each drinks the juice that glads the heart of man. lo Alcinous then, with aspect mild, began : "Princes and peers, attend ! while we impart To you the thoughts of no inhuman heart. Now pleased and satiate from the social rite Repair we to the blessings of the night : is But with the rising day, assembled here, Let all the elders of the land appear. Pious observe our hospitable laws. And heaven propitiate in the stranger's cause : Then join'd in council proper means explore 20 Safe to transport him to the wish'd-for shore : (How distant that, imports not us to know, Nor weigh the labour, but relieve the woe.) Meantime, nor harm nor anguish let him bear : This interval, heaven trusts him to our care ; 25 But to his native land our charge resign'd. Heaven's is his life to come, and all the woes behind. Then must he suffer what the fates ordain ; For fate has wove the thread of life with pain, And twins, even from the birth, are misery and man ! 30 "But if, descended from the Olympian bower. Gracious approach us some immortal power ; THE ODYSSEY If in that form thou comest a guest divine, Some high event the conscious gods design. As yet, unhid they never graced our feast. The solemn sacrifice call'd down the guest ; Then manifest of heaven the vision stood, s And to our eyes famihar was the god. Oft with some favoured traveller they stray, And shine before him all the desert way : With social intercourse, and face to face. The friends and guardians of our pious race. lo So near approach we their celestial kind. By justice, truth, and probity of mind ; As our dire neighbours of Cyclopean birth. Match in fierce ^^Tong the giant-sons of earth." ''Let no such thought (with modest grace rejoin'd 15 The prudent Greek) possess the roj^al mind. Alas ! a mortal, like thyself, am I ; No glorious native of 3^on azure sky : In form, ah, how unlike their heavenly kind ! How more inferior in the gifts of mind ! 20 Alas, a mortal ! most oppress'd of those AATiom fate has loaded with a weight of woes ; By a sad train of miseries alone Distinguished long, and second now to none ! By Heaven's high will compell'd from shore to shore ; 25 With Heaven's high will prepared to suffer more. What histories of toil could I declare ? But still long-w^earied nature wants repair ; Spent with fatigue, and shrunk with pining fast, My craving bowels still require repast. 30 Howe'er the noble, suffering mind, may grieve Its load of anguish, and disdain to live ; THE COURT OF ALCINOUS 137 Necessity demands our daily bread ; Hunger is insolent, and will be fed. But finish, 0 3^e peers ! what you propose, And let the morrow's dawn conclude my woes : Pleased will I suffer all the gods ordain, 5 To see mj^ soil, my son, my friends again. That view vouchsafed, let instant death surprise With ever-during shade these happy eyes !" The assembled peers vrith general praise approved His pleaded reason, and the suit he moved. lo Each drinks a full oblivion of his cares, And to the gifts of balmy sleep repairs. Ulysses in the regal walls alone Remained : beside him, on a splendid throne, Divine Arete and Alcinous shone. 15 The queen, on nearer view, the guest surveyed Robed in the garments her own hands had made ; Not without wonder seen. Then thus began, Her words addressing to the godlike man : ^'Camest thou not hither, wondrous stranger ! say, 20 From lands remote, and o'er a length of sea ? Tell then whence art thou ! whence that princely air ? And robes like these, so recent and so fair ? " "Hard is the task, 0 princess ! 3^ou impose, (Thus sighing spoke the man of many woes) 25 The long, the mournful series to relate Of all my sorrows, sent b\^ heaven and fate ! Yet what you ask, attend. An island lies Beyond these tracts, and under other skies, Ogygia named, in Ocean's watery arms ; 30 Where dwells Calypso, dreadful in her charms ! Remote from gods or men she holds her reign, THE ODYSSEY Amid the terrors of the roUing main. Me, only me, the hand of fortune bore, Unbless'd ! to tread that interdicted shore, When Jove tremendous in the sable deeps Launch'd his red hghtning at our scatter'd ships : 5 Then, all my fleet, and all my followers lost, Sole on a plank, on boiling surges toss'd. Heaven drove my wreck the Ogj^gian isle to find, Full nine days floating to the wave and \\dnd. Met bj^ the goddess there wiih. open arms, 10 She bribed my stay with more than human charms ; Nay promised, vainly promised, to bestow Immortal life, exempt from age and woe. But all her blandishments successless prove. To banish from my breast my country's love. 15 I stay reluctant seven continued years, And water her ambrosial couch with tears. The eighth, she voluntary moves to part, Or urged by Jove, or her own changeful heart. A raft was form'd to cross the surging sea ; 20 Herself supplied the stores and rich array ; And gave the gales to waft me on the waj'. In scA-enteen days appeared your pleasing coast. And woodj^ mountains half in vapours lost. Joy touch'd my soul : my soul was joy'd in vain, 25 For angry Neptune roused the raging main ; The wild wdnds whistle, and the billows roar ; The sphtting raft the furious tempests tore ; And storms vindictive intercept the shore. Soon as their rage subsides, the seas I brave 30 With naked force, and shoot along the wave. To reach this isle : but there my hopes were lost, THE COURT OF A LCI NO US 139 The surge impell'd me on a craggy coast. I chose the safer sea, and chanced to find A river's mouth, impervious to the wind. And clear of rocks. I fainted by the flood ; Then took the shelter of the neighbouring wood. 5 'Twas night ; and cover'd in the foliage deep, Jove plunged m}^ senses in the death of sleep. All night I slept, obhvious of my pain : Aurora dawn'd, and Phoebus shined in vain, Nor till oblique he sloped his evening ray, 10 Had Somnus° dried the balmy dews awsiy. Then female voices from the shore I heard : A maid amidst them, goddess-like, appeared : To her I sued, she pitied m.y distress ; Like thee in beauty, nor in virtue less. is Who from such youth could hope considerate care ? In youth and beauty wisdom is but rare ! She gave me hfe, relieved wdth just supplies My wants, and lent these robes that strike your eyes. This is the truth : and oh, ye powers on high ! 20 Forbid that want should sink me to a lie." To this the king : "Our daughter but express'd Her cares imperfect to our godlike guest. Suppliant to her, since first he chose to pray, Why not herself did she conduct the way, 25 And with her handmaids to our court convey?" "Hero and king ! (Ulysses thus rephed) Nor blame her, faultless, nor suspect of pride : She bade me follow in the attendant train ; But fear and reverence did my steps detain, 30 Lest rash suspicion might alarm thy mind : Man's of a jealous and mistaking kind." 140 THE ODYSSEY ''Far from my soul (he cried) the gods efface All wrath ill grounded, and suspicion base ! Whate'er is honest, stranger, I approve ; And would to Phoebus, Pallas, and to Jove, Such as thou art, thy thought and mine were one, 5 Nor thou unwilling to be calFd my son : In such aUiance couldst thou wish to join, A palace stored with treasures should be thine. But if reluctant, who shall force thy staj^ ? Jove bids to set the stranger on his way, 10 And ships shall wait thee with the morning ray. Till then, let slumber close thy careful eyes ; The wakeful mariners shall watch the skies. And seize the moment when the breezes rise : Then gently waft thee to the pleasing shore, 15 Where thy soul rests, and labour is no more. Far as Eubcea° though thy country lay. Our ships vrith ease transport thee in a day. Thither of old. Earth's giant-son to view, On wings of wind with Rhadamanth they flew : 20 This land, from whence their morning course begun. Saw them returning with the setting sun. Your eyes shall witness and confirm my tale. Our 3^outh how dextrous, and how fleet our sail, When justly timed with equal sweep they row, 25 And ocean whitens in long tracks below." Thus he. No word the experienced man replies. But thus to heaven, (and heavenward lifts his eyes :) "0 Jove ! 0 father ! what the king accords Do thou make perfect ! sacred be his words ! 30 AVide o'er the world Alcinous' glory shine ; Let fame be his, and ah ! my country mine ! " THE COURT OF ALCINOUS 141 Meantime Arete, for the hour of rest, Ordains the fleecy couch, and covering vest. Bids her fair train the purple quilts prepare, And the thick carpets spread with busy care. With torches blazing in their hands they pass'd, 5 And finish'd all their queen's command with haste : Then gave the signal to the willing guest : He rose with pleasure, and retired to rest. There, soft-extended, to the murmuring sound Of the high porch, Ulysses sleeps profound ! 10 Within, released from cares Alcinous lies ; And fast beside were closed Arete's eyes. BOOK YIII ARGOIEXT PHiEACIAX COUNCIL, GAMES, BARD Alcinous calls a council, in which it is resolved to transport Ulysses mto his country. After which splendid entertainments are made, where the celebrated musician and poet Demodocus plays and sings to the guests. They next proceed to the games, the race, the wrest- ling, the discus, etc., where Ulysses casts a prodigious length, to the admiration of all the spectators. They return again to the banquet, and Demodocus sings. Ulysses, after a compliment to the poet, desires him to sing the introduction of the wooden horse into Troy ; which subject provoking his tears, Alcinous inquires of his guest his name, parentage, and fortunes. Now fair Aurora lifts her golden ray, And all the ruddy orient flames with day : Alcinous, and the chief, with dawning light, Rose instant from the slumbers of the night ; Then to the council-seat they bend their way, 5 And fill the shining thrones along the bay. Meanwhile ]Minerva, in her guardian care, Shoots from the starry vault through fields of air ; In form a herald of the king, she flies From peer to peer, and thus incessant cries : lo "Nobles and chiefs who rule Phaeacia's states, 1-12 PILEACIAN COUNCIL, GAMES, BARD 143 The king in council your attendance waits : A prince of grace divine your aid implores, O'er unknown seas arrived from unknown shores." She spoke, and sudden with tumultuous sounds Of thronging multitudes the shore rebounds ; 5 At once the seats they fill : and every eye Gazed, as before some brother of the sky. Pallas with grace divine his form improves, More high he treads, and more enlarged he moves ; She sheds celestial bloom, regard to draw ; 10 And gives a dignity of mien to awe ; With strength the future prize of fame to play, And gather all the honours of the day. Then from his glittering throne Alcinous rose : ^'Attend (he cried) wliile we our will disclose, 15 Your present aid this godlike stranger craves, Toss'd by rude tempest tlirough a war of waves ; Perhaps from realms that view the rising day, Or nations subject to the western ray. Then grant, what here all sons of woe obtain, 20 (For here affliction never pleads in vain :) Be chosen j^ouths prepared expert to try The vast profound, and bid the vessel fly : Launch the tall bark, and order every oar ; Then in our court indulge the genial hour. 25 Instant, you sailors, to this task attend : Swift to the palace, all ye peers ascend ; Let none to strangers honours due disclaim : Be there Demodocus, the bard of fame, Taught by the gods to please, when high he sings 30 The vocal lay, responsive to the strings." Thus spoke the prince : the attending peers obey. THE ODYSSEY In state the}- move ; Alcinous leads the way : Swift to Demodocus the herald flies, At once the sailors to their charge arise ; They launch the vessel, and unfurl the sails. And stretch the swelling canvas to the gales ; S Then to the palace move : a gathering throng, Youth, and white age, tumultuous pour along : Now all accesses to the dome are fill'd ; Eight boars, the choicest of the herd, are killVl : Two beeves, twelve fatlings from the flock, they bring To crown the feast ; so \s411s the bounteous king. n The herald now arrives, and guides along The sacred master of celestial song° ! Dear to the Muse ! who gave his daj^s to flow With mightj^ blessings, mix'd vnt\\ mighty woe : 15 With clouds of darkness quench' d his visual ray, But gave him sldll to raise the lofty lay. High on a radiant throne suiDlime in state. Encircled b}^ huge multitudes, he sat : With silver shone the throne ; his Utc, weU strung 20 To rapturous sounds, at hand Pont onus hung ; Before his seat a pohsh'd table shines. And a fuU goblet foams with generous wines : His food a herald bore ; and now they fed ; And now the rage of craving hunger fled, 25 Then fired by all the muse, aloud he sings The mighty deeds of demigods and kings : From that fierce wTath the noble song arose, That made Ul3'sses and Achilles foes ; How o'er the feast they doom the fall of Troy ; 30 The stern debate Atrides° hears with joy : For heaven foretold the contest, when he trod PH.EACIAN COUNCIL, GAMES, BARD 145 The marble threshold of the Delphic god, Curious to learn the counsels of the sky, Ere yet he loosed the rage of war on Troy. Touch'd at the song, Ulysses straight resigned To soft affliction all his manly mind : 5 Before his eyes the purple vest he drew, Industrious to conceal the falling dew : But when the music paused, he ceased to shed The flowing tear, and raised his drooping head : And lifting to the gods a goblet crown'd, lo He pour'd a pure libation to the ground. Transported with the song, the listening train Again with loud applause demand the strain : Again Ulj^sses veil'd his pensive head. Again, unmann'd, a shower of sorrow shed : 15 Conceal'd he wept : the king observed alone The silent tear and heard the secret groan : Then to the bard aloud : ''0 cease to sing, Dumb be th}^ voice, and mute the harmonious string : Enough the feast has pleased, enough the power 22 Of heavenh' song has crown' d the genial hour ! Incessant in the games your strength display. Contest, YQ brave, the honours of the day ! That pleased the admiring stranger may proclaim In distant regions the Phasacian fame : -.5 None wield the gauntlet w^ith so dire a sway. Or swifter in the race devour the way ; None in the leap spring with so strong a bound. Or firmer in the wresthng press the ground." Thus spoke the king ; the attending peers obey : t,q In state they move ; Alcinous leads the way : His golden lyre Demodocus unstrung. THE ODYSSEY High on a column in the palace hung ; And guided by a herald's guardian cares, Majestic to the lists of fame repairs. Now swarms the populace : a countless throng, Youth and hoar age ; and man drives man along ; 5 The games begin ; ambitious of the prize, Acroneus, Thoon, and Eretmeus rise ; The prize Ocyalus and Prymneus claim, Anchialus and Ponteus chiefs of fame : There Proreus, Xautes, Eratreus appear, 10 And famed Amphialus, Polyneus' heir : Eurj^alus, like IMars terrific, rose, When clad in TNTath he \sithers hosts of foes : Xaubolides v.ith grace unequal'd shone Or equal'd by Laodamas alone. is With these came forth Ambasineus the strong, And three brave sons from great Alcinous sprung. Ranged in a line the read^^ racers stand. Start from the goal, and vanish o'er the strand : S\Nift as on wdngs of wind upborne they fly, 20 And drifts of rising dust involve the sky : Before the rest, what space the hinds allow Between the mule and ox, from plough to plough, Clytonius sprung : he wing'd the rapid way. And bore the unrival'd honours of the day. 25 With fierce embrace the brawny wrestlers join : The conquest, great Euryalus, is thine. Amphialus sprung forward with a bound, Superior in the leap a length of ground : From Eratreus' strong arm the discus flies, 30 And sings ^ith unmatch'd force along the skies. And Laodam whirls high, with dreadful swaj^, FH.^JACIAN COUNCIL, GAMES, BARD 147 The gloves of death, ° victorious in the fray. While thus the peerage in the games contends, In act to speak, Laodamas ascends : ''0 friends (he cries) the stranger seems well skill'd To try the illustrious labours of the field : 5 I deem him brave ; then grant the brave man's claim, Invite the hero to his share of fame. What nervous° arms he boasts ! how firm his tread ! His limbs how turn'd ! how broad his shoulders spread ! By age unbroke ! but all-consuming care lo Destroys perhaps the strength that time would spare : Dire is the ocean, dread in all its forms ! Man must decay, when man contends with storms." ''Well hast thou spoke (Eur^^alus replies). Thine is the guest, invite him thou to rise." is Swift at the word advancing from the crowd He made obeisance, and thus spoke aloud : "Vouchsafes the reverend stranger to display His manly worth, and share the glorious day ? Father, arise ! for thee thy port proclaims 20 Expert to conquer in the solemn games. To fame arise ! for what more fame can yield Than the swift race, or conflict of the field ? Steal from corroding care one transient day. To glory give the space thou hast to stay ; 25 Short is the time, and lo ! even now the gales Call thee aboard, and stretch the swelling sails." To whom with sighs Ulj^sses gave reply : "Ah why the ill-suiting pastime must I try? To gloomy care my thoughts alone are free ; 30 111 the gay sports with troubled hearts agree : Sad from my natal hour my days have ran. 148 THE ODYSSEY A much-afflicted, much-enduring man ! Who supphant to the king and peers, implores A speedy voyage to his native shores.'" ''Wide wanders, Laodam, thy erring tongue, The sports of glory to the brave belong, 5 (Retorts Euryalus :) he boasts no claim. Among the great, unlike the sons of fame. A wandering merchant he frequents the main, Some mean sea-farer in pursuit of gain ; Studious of freight, in naval trade well skill'd, lo But dreads the atliletic labours of the field." Incensed Ulysses ^-ith a fro^^Ti replies : ''0 forward to proclaim thy soul unwise ! With partial hands the gods their gifts dispense : Some greatly think, some speak with manly sense; 15 Here heaven an elegance of form denies, But wisdom the defect of form supplies : This man vAih. energy of thought controls. And steals with modest "violence our souls. He speaks reservedly, but he spealvs \di\\ force, 20 Nor can one word be changed but for a worse ; In pubhc more than moital he appears. And as he moves the gazing crowd reveres : ^Tiile others, beauteous as the ethereal kind, The nobler portion want, a kno-vsdng mind. 25 In outward show heaven gives thee to excel. But heaven denies the praise of thinking well. Ill bear the brave a rude ungovern'd tongue. And, youth, my generous soul resents the v»Tong : Sldll'd in heroic exercise, I claim 30 A post of honour with the sons of fame : Such vras my boast while vigour crown'd my days PH.^ACIAN COUNCIL, GAMES, BARD 149 Now care surrounds me, and my force decays ; Inured a melancholy part to bear, In scenes of death, hy tempest and by war, Yet thus by woes impair' d, no more I waive To prove the hero. — Slander stings the brave. " 5 Then striding forward with a furious bound, He wrench'd a rocky fragment from the ground, B}^ far more ponderous, and more huge by far. Than what Phjeacia's sons discharged in air. Fierce from his arm the enormous load he flings ; 10 Sonorous througli the shaded air it sings : Couch'd to the earth, tempestuous as it flies. The crowd gaze upward while it cleaves the skies Beyond all marks, with many a giddy round Down rushing, it upturns a hill of ground. 15 That instant Pallas, bursting from a cloud, Fix'd a distinguish'd mark, and cried aloud : " Even he who sightless wants his visual ray, May by his touch alone av^^ard the day : Thy signal throw transcends the utmost bound 20 Of every champion, by a length of ground : Securely bid the strongest of the train Arise to throw : the strongest throws in vain." She spoke : and momentarj^ mounts the sky : The friendty voice Ulysses hears with joy; 25 Then thus aloud, elate with decent pride : "Rise, ye Phaeacians. trj'' your force (he cried;) If with this throw the strongest caster vie, Still, further still, I bid the discus fly. Stand forth, ye champions, who the gauntlet wield 3a Or you, the swiftest racers of the field ! Stand forth, ye wrestlers, who these pastimes grace 150 THE ODYSSEY I wield the gauntlet, and I run the race. In such heroic games I jdeld to none : Or }deld to brave Laodamas alone ; Shall I with bra^'e Laodamas contend ? A friend is sacred, and I style him friend. 5 Ungenerous were the man, and base of heart, Who takes the kind, and pays the ungrateful part : Chiefly the man in foreign realms confined, Base to his friend, to liis own interest blind : All, all your heroes I this day def}^ ; 10 Give me a man, that we our might may try. Expert in every art, I boast the skill To give the feather 'd arrow ^^^ngs to kill ; Should a whole host at once discharge the bow. My well-aim'd shaft with death prevents^ the foe : 15 Alone superior in the field of Troy, Great Philoctetes taught the shaft to fly. From all the sons of earth unrival'd praise I justl}^ claim ; but \aeld to better days, To those famed daj's when great Alcides'' rose, 20 And Eur}i:us, who bade the gods be foes : (Vain Eurytus, whose art became his crime. Swept from the earth he perish'd in his prime ; Sudden the irremeable^ way he trod. Who boldly durst defy the bowj^er-god.) 25 In fighting fields as far the spear I throw. As flies an arrow from the well-drawm bow. Sole in the race the contest I decline. Stiff are my weary joints ; and I resign, By storms and hunger worn : age well ma}^ fail, 30 T\Tien storms and hunger both at once assail." Abash 'd the numbers hear the godlike man, PH^AGIAN COUNCIL, GAMES, BARD 151 Till great Alcinous mildly thus began ''Well hast thou spoke, and well thy generous tongue With decent pride refutes a public wrong : Warm are thy words, but warm without offence ; Fear only fools, secure in men of sense : S Thy worth is known. Then hear our country's claim. And bear to heroes our heroic fame ; In distant realms our glorious deeds display, Repeat them frequent in the genial day ; When bless'd with ease thy woes and wanderings end, lo Teach them thj^ consort, bid thy sons attend ; How loved of Jove, he crown'd our sires with praise, How vv^e, their offspring, dignify our race. "Let other realms the deatliful gauntlet wield, Or boast the glories of the athletic field ; 15 We in the course unrival'd speed display. Or through cserulean billows plough the way ; To dress, to dance, to sing, our sole delight, The feast or bath by day, and love by night : Rise then, ye skill'd in measures ; let liim bear 2c Your fame to men that breathe a distant air, And faithful saj", to you the powers belong To race, to sail, to dance, to chant the song. But, herald, to the palace swift repair. And the soft lyre to grace our pastimes bear." 25 Swift at the word, obedient to the king. The herald flies the tuneful lyre to bring. Up rose nine seniors, chosen to survey The future games, the judges of the day : With instant care they mark a spacious round, 30 And level for the dance the allotted ground. The herald bears the lyre : intent to play, 152 THE ODYSSEY The bard advancing meditates the lay : Skill'd in the dance, tall youths, a blooming band, Graceful before the heavenly minstrel stand ; Light-bounding from the earth, at once thej^ rise. Their feet half viewless quiver in the skies : 5 Ulysses gazed, astonish'd to surve\^ The glancing splendours as their sandals play. Then to the sports his sons the king commands : Each blooming youth before the monarch stands, In dance unmatch'd ! A wondrous ball is brought, lo (The work of Polj'bus, divinely v^Tought) This youth with strength enormous bids it fly. And bending backward whirls it to the skj^ ; His brother, springing with an active bound, At distance intercepts it from the ground : 15 The ball dismissed, in dance they skim the strand, Turn and return, and scarce imprint the sand. The assembly gazes vAth. astonish'd eyes, And send in shouts applauses to the skies. Then thus Ulysses : "Happj^ king, whose name 20 The brightest shines in all the rolls of fame : In subjects happy ! with surprise I gaze ; Thy praise was just ; their skill transcends thy praise." Pleased with his people's fame the monarch hears. And thus benevolent accosts the peers : 25 "Since wisdom's sacred guidance he pursues. Give to the stranger-guest a stranger's dues : Twelve princes in our realm dominion share. O'er whom supreme imperial power I bear : Bring gold, a pledge of love ; a talent bring, 30 A vest, a robe ; and imitate your king : Be swift to give ; that he this night ma}^ share PIL^ACIAN COUNCIL, GAMES, BARD 153 The social feast of jo}', with joy sincere. And thou, Euryahis, redeem thy wrong : A generous heart repairs a slanderous tongue." The assenting peers, obedient to the king, In haste their heralds send the gifts to bring. S Then thus Euryalus : "0 prince, whose sway Rules this bless'd realm, repentant I obey ! Be his this sw^ord, whose blade of brass displays A ruddy gleam ; whose hilt, a silver blaze ; Whose ivory sheath, inwrought with curious pride, lo Adds graceful terror to the wearer's side." He said, and to his hand the sword consigned ; "And if (he cried) my v/ords affect thy mind, Far from thy mind those w^ords, ye whirlwinds, bear. And scatter them, ye storms, in empty air ! 15 Crown, 0 3^e heavens, with joy his peaceful hours, And grant him to his spouse and native shores ! " ''And bless'd be thou, my friend, (Ulysses cries) Crown him with every joy, ye favouring skies ; To thy calm hours continued peace afford, 20 And never, never may'st thou want this sword !" He said, and o'er his shoulder flung the blade. Now o'er the earth ascends the evening shade : The precious gifts the illustrious heralds bear, And to the court the embodied peers repair. 25 Before the queen Alcinous' sons unfold The vests, the robes, and heaps of shining gold ; Then to the radiant thrones they move in state : Aloft, the king in pomp imperial sate. Thence to the queen : "0 partner of our reign, 30 O sole beloved ! command thy m.enial train A polish'd chest and stately robes to bear, 154 THE ODYSSEY And healing waters for the bath prepare : That, bathed, our guest may bid his sorrows cease. Hear the sweet song, and taste the feast in peace. A bowl that flames with gold, of wondrous frame, Ourself we give, memorial of our name ! 5. To raise in offerings to almighty Jove, And every god that treads the courts above." Instant the queen, observant of the king. Commands her train a spacious vase to bring ; The spacious vase with ample streams suffice, 10 Heap high the wood, and bid the flames arise. The flames climb round it with a fierce embrace, The fuming waters bubble o'er the blaze. Herself the chest prepares : in order roU'd The robes, the vests are ranged, and heaps of gold : 15 And adding a rich dress inwrought with art, A gift expressive of her bounteous heart. Thus spoke to Ithacus : "To guard with bands Insolvable these gifts, thy care demands ; Lest, in thy slumbers on the watery main, 20 The hand of rapine make our bounty vain." Then bending with fuU force, around he roU'd A labyrinth of bands in fold on fold. Closed with Circsean art. A train attends Around the bath : the bath the king ascends : 25 (Untasted joy, since that disastrous hour He sail'd, ill-fated, from Calypso's bower. Where, happy as the gods that range the sky. He feasted every sense, with every joy.) He bathes ; the damsels with officious toil 30 Shed sweets, shed unguents, in a shower of oil : Then o'er his limits a gorgeous robe he spreads. PH^ACIAN COUNCIL, GAMES, BARD 155 And to the feast magnificentl}^ treads. Full where the dome its shining valves expands, Nausicaa blooming as a goddess stands, With wondering eyes the hero she survey'd And graceful thus began the ro^^al maid : 5 ''Hail, godlike stranger ! and when heaven restores To thy fond wish thy long-expected shores. This, ever grateful, in remembrance bear, To me thou owest, to me, the vital air." "0 royal maid, (Ulysses straight returns) lo Whose worth the splendom's of thy race adorns, So may dread Jove, whose arm in vegeance forms The writhen bolt, and blackens heaven with storms, Restore me safe, through wear}' wanderings tost. To my dear country's ever-pleasing coast, is As while the spirit in this bosom glows, To thee, my goddess, I address my vows : M}^ life, thy gift I boast !" — He said and sat, Fast by Alcinous, on a throne of state. Now each partakes the feast, the wune prepares, zo Portions the food, and each his portion shares. The bard a herald guides : the gazing throng Pay low obeisance as he moves along : Beneath a sculptured arch he sits enthroned. The peers encircling form an aw^ul round. 25 Then from the chine, Ulysses carves with art. Delicious food, an honorary part ; "This, let the master of the lyre receive, A pledge of love ! 'tis all a wretch can give. Lives there a man beneath the spacious skies, 30 Who sacred honours to the bard denies ? The muse the bard inspires, exalts his mind ; THE ODYSSEY The muse indulgent loves the harmonious kind." The herald to his hand the charge conA'eys, Not fond of flattery, nor unpleased with praise. When now the rage of hunger was allay'd, Thus to the lyrist wise Ulysses said : 5 "0 more than man ! thy soul the Muse inspires, Or Phoebus animates vriih all his fires : For who, by Phoebus uninform'd, could know The woe of Greece, and sing so well the woe ! Just to the tale, as present at the fray, lo Or taught the labours of the dreadful day ! The song recalls past horrors to my ej'-es, And bids proud Ilion from her ashes rise. Once more harmonious strike the sounding string, The Epa?an fabric,° framed by Pallas, sing : 15 How stern Ulysses, furious to destro}^. With latent heroes sack'd imperial Troy. If faithful thou record the tale of fame. The god himself inspires th}^ breast with flame : And mine shall be the task, henceforth, to raise 20 In every land thy monument of praise." Full of the god, he raised his lofty strain, How the Greeks rush'd tumultuous to the main : How blazing tents illumined half the skies, While from the shores the ^^^nged navy flies : 25 How even in Ilion's walls, in deathful bands, Came the stern Greeks by Troy's assisting hands : All Troy up-heaved the steed ; of different mind, Various the Trojans counsel'd; part consign'd The monster to the sword, part sentence gave 30 To plunge it headlong in the whelming wave ; The unease award to lodge it in the towers, PILEAGIAN COUNCIL, GAMES, BARD 157 An offering sacred to the immortal powers : The unwise prevail, the}^ lodge it in the walls, And by the gods' decree proud Ilion falls ; Destruction enters in the treacherous wood, And vengeful slaughter, fierce for human blood. 5 He sung the Greeks stern-issuing from the steed, How Ilion burns, how all her fathers bleed : How to thy dome, Deiphobus° ! ascends The Spartan king ; how Ithacus° attends (Horrid as Mars), and how with dire alarms 10 He fights, subdues ; for Pallas strings liis arms. Thus while he sung, Ulysses' griefs renew, Tears bathe his cheeks, and tears the ground bedew. As some fond matron views in mortal fight Her husband falling in his country's right : 15 Frantic through clashing swords, she runs, she flies, As ghastly pale he groans, and faints, and dies : Close to his breast she grovels on the ground, And bathes with floods of tears the gaping wound ; She cries, she shrieks ; the fierce insulting foe 20 Relentless mocks her violence of woe : To chains condemned, as Vvdldh^ she deplores : A widow, and a slave on foreign shores. So from the sluices of Ulj^sses' eyes Fast fell the tears, and sighs succeeded sighs : 25 Conceal'd he grieved : the king observed alone The silent tear, and heard the secret groan. Then to the bard aloud : '^0 cease to sing, Dumb be thy voice, and mute the tuneful string : To every note his tears responsive flow, 30 And his great heart heaves with tumultuous woe ; Thy lay too deeph' moves : then cease the lay, 158 THE ODYSSEY And o'er the banquet every heart be gay: This social right demands : for him the sails, Floating in air, invite the impelling gales : His are the gifts of love : the wise and good Receive the stranger as a brother's blood. 5 ''But, friend, discover faithful what I crave, Artful concealment ill becomes the brave : Sa}^ what thy birth, and what the name you bore, Imposed by parents in the natal hour ? (For from the natal hour distinctive names, lo One common right, the great and lowly claims.) Say from what city, from what regions tost, And what inhabitants those regions boast ? So shalt thou instant reach the realm assign 'd. In wondrous ships self-moved, instinct ^\ith mind ; 15 No helm secures their course, no pilot guides ; Like man intelligent, they plough the tides, Conscious of every coast and every bay. That lies beneath the sun's all-seeing ray : Though clouds and darkness veil the encumber'd sky, 2c Fearless through darkness and through clouds they fly: Though tempests rage, though rolls the swelling main, The seas may roll, the tempests rage in vain ; Even the stern god that o'er the waves presides, Safe as they pass, and safe repass the tides, 2? With fury burns ; while careless the}^ convey Promiscuous everj^ guest to every ba3^ These ears have heard my royal sire disclose A dreadful story big with future woes : How Neptune raged, and how, by his command, 30 Firm rooted in a surge a ship should stand A monument of wrath : how mound on mound PH^ACIAN COUNCIL, GAMES, BARD 159 Should bury these proud towers beneath the ground. But this the gods may frustrate or fulfil, As suits the purpose of the eternal will. But say through what waste regions hast thou stray'd, AMiat customs noted, and what coasts survey'd ? 5 Possess'd by wild barbarians fierce in arms. Or men, whose bosom tender pity warms ? Say why the fate of Troj^ awaked thy cares. Why heaved thy bosom, and why flow'd thy tears ? Just are the ways of heaven : from heaven proceed ic The woes of man ; heaven doom'd the Greeks to bleed, A theme of future song ! Say then if slain Some dear-loved brother press'd the Phrygian" plam ? Or bled some friend, who bore a brother's part, And claim'd by merit, not by blood, the heart?" 15 BOOK IX ARGUIMENT THE ADVENTURES OF THE CICONS, LOTOPHAGI, AND CYCLOPS Ulysses begins the relation of his adventures ; how, after the de- struction of Troy, he with his companions made an incursion on the Cicons, by whom they were repulsed ; and meeting with a storm, were driven to the coast of the Lotophagi. From whence they sailed to the land of the Cyclops, whose manners'and situation are particu- larly characterised. The giant Polyphemus and his cave described ; the usage Ulysses and his companions met with there ; and, lastly, the method and artifice by which he escaped. Then thus Ulysses : — "Thou, whom first in sway, As first in virtue, these thy realms obej^ ; How sweet the products of a peaceful reign ! The heaven-taught poet,° and enchanting strain ; The well-fill'd palace, the perpetual feast, 5 A land rejoicing, and a people bless'd ! How goodly seems it, ever to employ Man's social days in union and in joA^; The plenteous board high-heap'd with cates° divine, And o'er the foaming bowl the laughing wine ! lo "Amid these joys, why seeks th}' mind to know The unhappy series of a wanderer's woe ; Remembrance sad, whose image to re^dew, Alas ! must open all my wounds anew ? 160 THE CICONS, LOTOPHAGI, AND CYCLOPS 161 And oh, what first, what last shall I relate. Of woes unnumber'd sent by heaven and fate ? "Know^ first, the man (though now a wretch distressed) Who hopes thee, monarch, for his future guest : Behold Ulysses ! no ignoble name, 5 Earth sounds my wisdom, and high heaven my fame. "My native soil is Ithaca the fair, Where high Neritus waves his woods in air : Dulichium, Same, and Zacynthus crown'd With shady m^ountains, spread their isles around. ic (These to the north and night's dark regions run, Those to Aurora and the rising sun.) Low lies our isle, j^et bless'd in fruitful stores ; Strong are her sons, though rocky are her shores ; And none, ah none so lovelj'' to my sight, 15 Of all the lands that heaven overspreads with light ! In vain Calj^DSO long constrained my stay, With sweet, reluctant, amorous delay ; With all her charms as vainly Circe strove, And added magic, to secure my love. 20 In pomps or joys, the palace or the grot. My country's image never was forgot, My absent parents rose before my sight. And distant lay contentment and delight. '^Hear then the woes, which mighty Jove ordain'd 25 To waft my passage from the Trojan land. The winds from Ilion to the Cicons' shore. Beneath cold Ismarus, our vessels bore. We boldly landed on the hostile place, And sack'd the city, and destroy'd the race, 30 Their wives m.ade captive, their possessions shared, And every soldier found a like reward. 162 THE ODYSSEY I then ad\ased° to flj^ ; not so the rest, Who staid to revel, and prolong the feast : The fatted sheep and sable bulls they slay, And bowls fly round, and riot wastes the day. IMeantime the Cicons, to their holds retired, 5 Call on the Cicons, with new fury fired ; With early morn the gathered country swarms And all the continent is bright with arms ; Thick as the budding leaves or rising flowers O'erspread the land, when spring descends in showers : lo All expert soldiers, skill'd on foot to dare, Or from the bounding courser urge the war. Xow fortune changes, (so the fates ordain) Our hour was come to taste our share of pain. Close at the ships the bloody fight began, is Wounded they wound, and man expires on man. Long as the morning sun increasing bright O'er heaven's pure azure spread the growing light. Promiscuous death the form of war confounds. Each adverse battle gored with equal wounds : 20 But when his evening wheels o'erhung the main, Then conquest crown'd the fierce Ciconian train. Six brave companions from each ship we lost. The rest escape in haste, and quit the coast. With sails outspread we fiy the unequal strife, 25 Sad for their loss, but joyful of our life. Yet as we fled, our fellows' rites we paid. And thrice we call'd on eacii unhapp}^ shade. ''Meanwhile the god, whose hand the thunder forms. Drives clouds on clouds, and blackens heaven with storms : Wide o'er the waste the rage of Boreas sweeps, 31 And night rush'd headlong on the shaded deeps. THE CICONS, LOTOPHAGI, AND CYCLOPS 163 Now here, riovr there, the giddy ships are borne. And all the rattling shrouds in fragments torn. We furl'd the sail, we plied the labouring oar, Took down our masts, and row'd our ships to shore. Two tedious days and two long nights we la}', 5 O'erwatch'd and batter'd in the naked bay. But the third morning when Aurora brings, We rear the masts, we spread the canvass wings ; Refresh'd, and careless on the deck reclined, We sit, and trust the pilot and the wind, lo Then to my native country had I sail'd ; But, the cape doubled, adverse winds prevail'd. Strong was the tide, which, by the northern blast Impell'd, our vessels on Cythera cast. Nine daj^s our fleet the uncertain tempest bore 15 Far in wide ocean, and from sight of shore : The tenth we touch'd, by various errors toss'd, The land of Lotos, ° and the flowery coast. We climb'd the beach, and springs of water found, Then spread our hasty banquet on the ground. 20 Three men were sent, deputed from the crew, (A herald one) the dubious coast to view. And learn what habitants possess'd the place. They went, and found a hospitable race ; Not prone to ill, nor strange to foreign guest, 25 They eat, they drink, and nature gives the feast ; The trees around them all their fruit produce ; Lotos the name ; divine, nectareous juice ! (Thence call'd Lotophagi) which whoso tastes, Insatiate riots in the sweet repasts, 30 Nor other home nor other care intends. But quits his house, liis country, and his friends : 164 THE ODYSSEY The three we sent, from off the enchanting ground We dragg'd reluctant, and by force we bound : The rest in haste forsook the pleasing shore. Or, the charm tasted, had return'd no more. Now^ placed in order on their banl«, they sweep 5 The sea's smooth face, and cleave the hoary deep ; With hea\y hearts we labour through the tide. To coasts unkno\^Ti, and oceans yet untried. '^The land of Cyclops° first ; a savage kind, Nor tamed by manners, nor bj^ laws confined : lo Untaught to plant, to turn the glebe and sow ; They all their products to free nature owe. The soil untill'd a ready harvest yields, With wheat and barley wave the golden fields, Spontaneous wines from weighty clusters pour, 15 Ajid Jove descends in each prolific shower. By these no statutes and no rights are known, No council held, no monarch fills the throne ; But high on hills or airy cliffs they dv\'ell, Or deep in caves whose entrance leads to hell. 20 Each rules his race, his neighbour not his care, . Heedless of others, to his own severe. "Opposed to the Cyclopean coasts there lay An isle, whose hills their subject fields survey; Its name Lachsea, crown'd w4th many a grove, 25 '^Miere savage goats through pathless thickets rove : No needy mortals here, x^ith hunger bold, Or ^\Tetched hunters, through the wdntery cold. Pursue their flight ; but leave them safe to bound From hill to hill o'er all the desert ground. 30 Nor knows the soil to feed the fleecy care,° Or feels the labours of the crooked share° ; THE C ICONS, LOTOPHAGI, AND CYCLOPS 165 But uninhabited, untill'd, unsown It lies, and breeds the bleating goat alone. For there no vessel with vermilion prore,° Or bark of traffic, glides from shore to shore ; The rugged race of savages, unskilFd 5 The seas to traverse, or the ships to build. Gaze on the coast, nor cultivate the soil ; Unlearn'd in all the industrious arts of toil. Yet here all products and all plants abound. Sprung from the fruitful genius of the ground ; lo Fields ^vaving high with heavy crops are seen, And vines that flourish in eternal green, Refreshing meads along the murmuring main. And fountains streaming down the fruitful plain. "A port there is, enclosed on either side, 15 Where ships may rest, unanchor'd and untied. Till the glad mariners incline to sail, And the sea whitens with the rising gale. High at its head, from out the cavern'd rock, In living rills a gushing fountain broke : 20 Around it, and above, for ever green The bushing alders form'd a shady scene. Hither some favouring god, beyond our thought, Tlirough all-surrounding shade our navy brought ; For gloomy night descended on the main, 25 Nor glimmer'd Phcebe in the ethereal plain : But all unseen the clouded island lay, And all unseen the surge and rolling sea, Till safe we anchor'd in the shelter'd bay. Our sails we gather'd, cast our cables o'er, 30 And slept secure along the sand}^ shore. Soon as again the rosy morning shone, THE ODYSSEY Reveal'd the landscape and the scene unknown ; With wonder seized we view the pleasing ground, And walk dehghted, and expatiate round. Roused by the woodland njTiiphs, at early dawn, The mountain goats came bounding o'er the lawn : 5 In haste our fellows to the ships repair, For arms and weapons of the sylvan w^ar ; Straight in three squadrons all our crew we part, And bend the bow, or "^ing the missile dart : The bounteous gods afford a copious prej^, 10 And nine fat goats each vessel bears away ; The royal bark had ten. Our ships complete We thus supplied (for twelve were all the fleet.) "Here, till the setting sun roll'd down the light, We sat indulging in the genial rite : 15 Nor wines were wanting ; those from ample jars We drain'd, the prize of our Ciconian wars. The land of Cyclops lay in prospect near ; The voice of goats and bleating flocks we hear. And from their mountains rising smokes appear. ro Now sunk the sun, and darkness cover'd o'er The face of things : along the sea-beat shore Satiate we slept : but when the sacred dawn. Arising, glitter'd o'er the devry lawn, I call'd my fellows, and these words address'd : 25 ' ]My dear associates, here indulge your rest ; While with my single ship, adventurous, I Go forth, the manners of yon men to try ; Whether a race unjust, of barbarous might. Rude, and unconscious of a stranger's right ; 3a Or such who harbour pity in their breast. Revere the gods, and succour the distress'd.' THE CICONS, LOTOPHAGI, AND CYCLOPS 167 "This said, I climb my vessel's lofty side; My train obey'd me, and the ship untied. In order seated on their banks, they sweep Neptune's smooth face,° and cleave the yielding deep. When to the nearest verge of land we drew, ;■ Fast by the sea a lonely cave we view. High, and with darkening laurels cover'd o'er ; Where sheep and goats lay slumbering round the shore. Near this, a fence of marble from the rock. Brown with o'er-arching pine, and spreading oak. ic A giant-shepherd here his flock maintains Far from the rest, and solitary reigns, In shelter thick of horrid shade reclined ; And gloomy mischiefs labour in his mind. A form enormous ! far unhke the race 15 Of human birth, in stature, or in face ; As some lone mountain's monstrous growiih he stood, Crown'd with rough tliickets, and a nodding wood. I left my vessel at the point of land. And close to guard it, gave our crew command : 20 With only twelve, the boldest and the best, I seek the adventure, and forsake the rest. Then took a goatskin fill'd with precious wine, The gift of Maron of Evantheus' line (The priest of Phoebus at the Ismarian shrine.) 25 In sacred shade his honour'd mansion stood Amidst Apollo's consecrated wood ; Him and his house heaven moved my mind to save,° And costly presents in return he gave ; Seven golden talents to perfection wrought, 30 A silver bowl that held a copious draught. And twelve large vessels of unmingled \vine, 168 THE ODYSSEY Mellifluous, undecajdng, and dhdne ! Which now some ages from his race conceal'd, The hoary sire in gratitude reveal'd : Such was the T\ine ; to quench whose fervent steam Scarce twenty measures from the li^dng stream 5 To cool one cup sufficed : the goblet crown'd Breathed aromatic fragrancies around. Of this an ample vase we heaved aboard, And brought another with provisions stored. My soul foreboded I should find the bower lo Of some fell monster, fierce with barbarous power ; Some rustic wretch, who lived in heaven's despite. Contemning laws, and trampling on the right. The cave we found, but vacant all witliin, (His flock the giant tended on the green ;) 15 But round the grot we gaze ; and aU we view, In order ranged, our admiration drev/ : The bending shelves with loads of cheeses press'd, The folded flocks each separate from the rest (The larger here, and there the lesser lambs, 20 The new-fallen young here bleating for their dams ; The kid distinguish'd from the lambkin lies :) The cavern echoes with responsive cries. Capacious chargers all around were laid, Full pails, and vessels of the milking trade. 25 With fresh pro\isions hence our fleet to store My friends advise me, and to quit the shore ; Or drive a flock of sheep and goats away, Consult our safety, and put off to sea. Their wholesome counsel rashly° I declined, 30 Curious to view the man of monstrous kind. And try what social rites a savage lends : THE CICONS, LOTOPHAGI, AND CYCLOPS 169 Dire rites, alas ! and fatal to my friends ! ''Then first a fire we kindle, and prepare For his return with sacrifice and prayer. The loaden shelves afford us full repast ; We sit expecting. Lo ! he comes at last. s Near half a forest on his back he bore, And cast the ponderous burden at the door. It thunder'd as it fell. We trembled then, . And sought the deep recesses of the den. Now driven before him, through the arching rock, lo Came tumbling, heaps on heaps, the unnumber'd flock : Big-udder'd ewes, and goats of female kind, (The males were penn'd in outward courts behind.) Then, heaved on high, a rock's enormous weight To the cave's mouth he roll'd, and closed the gate. 15 (Scarce twenty four-wheel 'd cars, compact and strong, The massj^ load could bear, or roll along.) He next betakes him to his evening cares. And, sitting down, to milk his flocks prepares ; Of half their udders eases first the dams, 20 Then to the mothers' teat submits the lambs. Half the white stream to hardening cheese he press'd, And high in wicker-baskets heap'd : the rest, Reserved in bowls, supplied the nightlj" feast. His labour done, he fired the pile that gave 25 A sudden blaze, and lighted all the cave. We stand discover'd by the rising fires ; Askance the giant glares, and thus inquires : 'What are ye, guests? on w^hat adventure, say. Thus far ye w^ander through the watery way ; 30 Pirates, perhaps, who seek through seas unknown The lives of others, and expose your own ? ' 170 THE ODYSSEY " His voice like thunder through the cavern sounds : My bold companions thriUing fear confounds, Appall'd at sight of more than mortal man ! At length, with heart recover'd, I began : 'From Troy's famed fields, sad wanderers o'er the main, Behold the relics of the Grecian train ! 6 Through various seas bj' various perils toss'd, And forced by storms, unwilling, on your coast ; Far from our destined course, and native land, Such was our fate, and such high Jove's command ! ic Nor what we are befits us to disclaim, Atrides'° friends (in arms a might}^ name) Who taught proud Troj" and all her sons to bow ; Victors of late, but humble suppliants now ! Low at thy knee thy succour we implore ; 15 Respect us, human, and relieve us poor. At least some hospitable gift bestow ; 'Tis what the happ}" to the unhappj^ owe : ^Tis what the gods require : those gods revere, The poor and stranger are their constant care ; 20 To Jove their cause and their revenge belongs, He wanders ^^ith them, and he feels their ^\Tongs.' ' Fools that ye are ! (the savage thus replies. His inward fury blazing at his eyes ;) Or strangers, distant far from our abodes, 25 To bid me reverence or regard the gods. Know then we Cyclops are a race, above Those air-bred people, and their goat-nursed° Jove : And learn, our power proceeds with thee and thine. Not as he wills, but as ourselves incline. 30 But answer, the good ship that brought ye o'er, Where Ues she anchor'd ? near or off the shore ? ' THE CICONS, LOTOPHAGI, AND CYCLOPS 171 "Thus lie. His meditated fraud I find, (Versed in the turns of various humankind) And, cautious, thus : 'Against a dreadful rock, Fast by your shore the gallant vessel broke : Scarce with these few I 'scaped ; of all my train, 5 Whom angry Neptune whelm'd beneath the main ; The scattered wreck the winds blew back again.' *'He answer'd with his deed. His bloody hand Snatch 'd two, unhappy ! of my martial band. And dash'd like dogs against the stony floor : 10 The pavement swims wuth brains and mingled gore. Torn limb from limb, he spreads his horrid feast, And fierce devours it like a mountain beast : He sucks the marrow, and the blood he drains, Nor entrails, flesh, nor solid bone remains. 15 We see the death from which we cannot move. And humbled groan beneath the hand of Jove. His ample maw with human carnage fill'd, A milky deluge next the giant swill'd ; Then stretch'd in length o'er half the cavern'd rock, 20 Lay senseless, and supine, amidst the flock. To seize the time, and with a sudden wound To fix the slumbering monster to the ground. My soul impels me ; and in act I stand To draw the sword ; but wisdom held my hand. 25 A deed so rash had finish'd all our fate ; No mortal forces from the lofty gate Could roll the rock. In hopeless grief we lay. And sigh, expecting the return of day. "Now did the rosy-finger'd morn arise, 30 And shed her sacred light along the skies. He wakes, he lights the fire, he milks the dams, 172 THE ODYSSEY And to the mothers" teat submits the lambs. The task thus finish'd of his morning hours, Two more he snatches, murders, and devours. Tlien, pleased and whistling, drives his flock before, Removes the rocky mountain from the door, 5 And shuts again : with equal ease disposed, As a light quiver's lid is oped and closed. His giant voice the echoing region fills : His flocks, obedient, spread o'er all the hills. "Thus left behind, catu in the last despair. lo I thought, devised, and Pallas heard my praj^er. Revenge, and doubt, and caution work'd my breast ; But this of many counsels seem'd the best : The monster's club %\^thin the cave I spied, A tree of stateliest growth, and j'et undried, 15 Green from the wood ; of height and bulk so vast, The largest ship might claim it for a mast. This, shorten'd of its top, I gave my train A fathom's length, to shape it and to plane ; The narrower end I sharpen'd to a spire ; 20 Whose point we harden'd with the force of fire, And hid it in the dust that strow'd the cave. Then to my few companions, bold and brave, Proposed, who first the venturous deed should try, In the broad orbit of his monstrous ej^e 25 To plunge the brand, and twirl the pointed wood. When slumber next should tame the man of blood. Just as I wish'd, the lots were cast on four : Myself the fifth. We stand and wait the hour. He comes with evening : all his fleecy flock 30 Before him march, and pour into the rock ; Not one, or male or female, staA^'d behind : THE CICONS, LOTOPHAGI, AND CYCLOPS 173 (So fortune chanced, or so some god designed.) Then heaving high the stone's unwieldy weight, He roird it on the cave, and closed the gate. First down he sits, to milk the woolly dams, And then permits their udder to the lambs. 5 Next seized two wretches more, and headlong cast, Brain'd on the rock ; his second dire repast. I then approach'd him reeking with their gore, And held the brimming goblet foaming o'er : 'Cyclop ! since human flesh has been thy feast. lo Now drain this goblet, potent to digest : Know hence what treasures in our ship we lost. And what rich liquors other climates boast. We to thy shore the precious freight shall bear. If home thou send us, and vouchsafe to spare. is But oh ! thus furious, thirsting thus for gore. The sons of men shall ne'er approach th}^ shore. And never shalt thou taste this nectar more.' ''He heard, he took, and pouring down his throat, Dehghted, swill'd the large luxurious draught. 20 'More ! give me more! (he cried) the boon be thine. Whoe'er thou art, that bear'st celestial wine, Declare thj'' name ; not mortal is this juice, Such as the unbless'd Cyclopean climes produce, (Though sure our vine the largest cluster yields, 25 And Jove's scorn'd thunder serves to drench our fields ;) But this descended from the bless'd abodes, A rill of nectar, streaming from the gods.' "He said, and greedy grasp'd the heady bowl, Thrice drain'd, and pour'd the deluge on his soul. 30 His sense lay cover'd mth the dozy fume ; While thus my fraudful speech I reassume : 174 THE ODYSSEY ' Th}^ promised boon, 0 Cyclop ! now I claim, And plead my title : Xoman° is nw name. By that distinguished from my tender years, 'Tis what my parents call me, and my peers.' '^ The giant then: 'Our promised grace receive, S The hospitable boon we mean to give : When all thy wTetched crew have felt m}^ power, Noman shall be the last I will devour.' ''He said : then nodding with the fumes of wine Dropp'd his huge head, and snoring la}' supine. lo His neck obliqueh' o'er his shoulders hung, Press'd ^ith the weight of sleep that tames the strong ! There belch'd the mingled streams of wine and blood, And human flesh, his indigested food. Sudden I stir the embers, and inspire is With animating breath the seeds of fire ; Each drooping spirit with bold words repair, And urge my train the dreadful deed to dare. The stake now glow'd beneath the burning bed (Green as it was) and sparkled fiery red. 20 Then forth the vengeful instrument I bring ; With beating hearts nw fellows form a ring. Urged bj^ some present god, they swift let fall The pointed torment on his \dsual ball. Mj^self above them from a rising ground 25 Guide the sharp stake, and twirl it round and round. As when a ship\\Tight stands his workmen o'er, Who ph' the wimble, some huge beam to bore ; Urged on all hands it nimbly spins about. The grain deep-piercing till it scoops it out : 30 In liis broad eye so whirls the fiery wood ; From the pierced pupil spouts the boiling blood ; THE CICONS, LOTOPHAGI, AND CYCLOPS lib Singed are his brows ; the scorching Hds grow black ; The gelly bubbles, and the fibres crack. And as when armourers temper in the ford The keen-edged pole-axe, or the shining sword, The red-hot metal hisses in the lake : ^ Thus in his eye-ball hiss'd the plunging stake. He sends a dreadful groan : the rocks around Through all their inmost winding caves resound. Scared we receded. Forth, with frantic hand, He tore and dash'd on earth the gory brand : lo Then calls the Cyclops, all that round him dwell. With voice like thunder, and a direful yell ; From all their dens the one-eyed race repair. From rifted rocks, and mountains bleak in air. All haste, assembled at his well-known roar, 15 Inquire the cause, and crowd the cavern door. ' What hurts thee, Polypheme ? what strange affright Thus breaks our slumbers, and disturbs the night ? Does any mortal in the unguarded hour Of sleep oppress thee, or by fraud or power ? 20 Or thieves insidious the fair flock surprise ? ' Thus the}^ The Cyclop from his den replies : ' Friends, Noman kills me ; Noman in the hour Of sleep oppresses me with fraudful power.' ' If no man hurt thee, but the hand divine 25 Inflict disease, it fits thee to resign : To Jove or to thy father Neptune pray.' The brethren cried, and instant strode away. ''Joy touch'd my secret soul and conscious heart, Pleased vnih. the effect of conduct and of art. 3c Meantime the Cyclop, raging with his wound, Spreads his wide arms, and searches round and round : 176 THE ODYSSEY At last, the stone removing from the gate, With hands extended in the midst he sat ; And search'd each passing sheep, and felt it o'er, Secure to seize us ere we reach'd the door, (Such as his shallow A\it, he deem'd was mine) 5 But secret I revolved the deep design : 'Twas for our lives my labouring bosom wrought ; Each scheme I turn'd, and sharpened every thought ; This way and that I cast, to save my friends, Till one resolve my varjdng counsel ends. lo "Strong were the rams, with native purple fair. Well fed, and largest of the fleecy care. These three and three, with, osier bands we tied, (The twining bands the Cyclop's bed supplied ;) The midmost bore a man ; the outward two 15 Secured each side : so bound w^e all the crew. One ram remain'd, the leader of the flock ; In his deep fleece mj'- grasping hands I lock, And fast beneath, in woolly curls inwove. There cling implicit, and confide in Jove. 20 T\Tien rosy morning glimmer'd o'er the dales, He drove to pasture all the lust}' males : The ewes, still folded, with distended thighs Unmilk'd lay bleating in distressful cries. But heedless of those cares, with anguish stung, 25 He felt their fleeces as they pass'd along : (Fool that he was) and let them safely go. All unsuspecting of their freight below. ''The master ram at last approach'd the gate. Charged with his wool, and with Ulysses' fate. 30 Him, while he pass'd, the monster blind bespoke 'What makes my ram the lag of all the flock? THE CICONS, LOTOPHAGI, AND CYCLOPS 177 First thou wert wont to crop the flowery mead, First to the field and river's bank to lead, And first with stately step at evening hour Thy fleecy fellows usher to their bower. Now far the last, with pensive pace and slow 5 Thou movest, as conscious of thy master's woe ! Seest thou these lids that now unfold in vain, (The deed of Noman and his wicked train ?) Oh ! didst thou feel for thy afflicted lord, And would but fate the power of speech afford ; 10 Soon might'st thou tell me, where in secret here The dastard lurks, all trembling with his fear : S\\^ng round and round, and dash'd from rock to rock, His batter'd brains should on the pavement smoke. No ease, no pleasure my sad heart receives, 15 While such a monster as vile Noman lives.' ''The giant spoke, and through the hollow rock Dismiss'd the ram, the father of the flock. No sooner freed, and through the enclosure past, First I release myself, my fellows last : 20 Fat sheep and goats in throngs we drive before, And reach our vessel on the winding shore. With joy the sailors view their friends return 'd. And hail us living whom as dead they mourn'd. Big tears of transport stand in every eye : 25 I check their fondness, and command to fly. Aboard in haste they heave the wealth}^ sheep, And snatch their oars, and rush into the deep. "Now off at sea, and from the shallows clear. As far as human voice could reach the ear ; 30 With taunts the distant giant I accost : ' Hear me, 0 Cyclop ! hear, ungracious host ! 178 THE ODYSSEY '*Twas on no coward, no ignoble slave, Thou meditatest thy meal in j'onder cave ; But one, the vengeance fated from above Doom'd to inflict ; the instrument of Jove. Thy barbarous breach of hospitable bands, 3 The god, the god revenges by ni}- hands.' "These words the Cyclop's burning rage provoke- From the tall hill he rends a pointed rock ; High o'er the billows flew the massy load, And near the ship came thundering on the flood. ic It almost brush'd the helm, and fell before ; The whole sea shook, and refluent beat the shore. The strong concussion on the heaving tide RoH'd back the vessel to the island's side : Again I shoved her off ; our fate to fly, 15 Each nerve we stretch, and every oar we ply. Just 'scaped impending death, when now again We twice as far had furrow'd back the main. Once more I raise m}- voice ; my friends, afraid, With mild entreaties m}' design dissuade : 20 ' What boots the godless giant to provoke, Whose arm may sink us at a single stroke ? Alread}^, when the dreadful rock he threw. Old Ocean shook, and back his surges flew. The sounding voice directs his aim again ; 25 The rock o'erwhelms us, and we 'scaped in vain.' ''But I, of mind elate, and scorning fear. Thus with new taunts insult the monster's ear : ' Cyclop ! if an\^, pit3^ng thy disgrace. Ask who disfigured thus that eyeless face ? 30 Say 'twas Ulysses ; 'twas his deed, declare, Laertes' son, of Ithaca the fair ; THE CICONS, LOTOPIIAGI, AND CYCLOPS 179 Ulysses, far in fighting fields renown'd, Before whose arm Troy tumbled to the ground/ "The astonish'd savage with a roar replies : ' 0 heavens ! 0 faith of ancient prophecies ! This, Telemus Eurymides foretold, v (The mighty seer who on these hills grew old ; Skiird the dark fates of mortals to declare, -* And learn'd in ah wing'd omens of the air :) Long since he menaced, such was fate's command ; And named Ulysses as the destined hand. lo I deem'd some godlike giant to behold, Or lofty hero, haughty, brave, and bold ; Not this weak pigmj^-wretch, mean design, Who not by strength subdued me, but b}^ wine. But come, accept our gifts, and join to pray is Great Neptune's blessing on the watery way : For his I am, and I the lineage own : The immortal father no less boasts the son. His power can heal me, and relight my eye ; And only his, of all the gods on high.' 20 'Oh"! could this arm (I thus aloud rejoin'd) From that vast bulk dislodge thy bloody mind, And send thee howling to the realms of night, As sure, as Neptune cannot give thee sight ! ' "Thus I : while raging he repeats his cries, ^5 With hands uplifted to the starry skies : 'Hear me, 0 Neptune ! thou whose arms are hurl'd From shore to shore, and gird the solid world. If thine I am, nor thou my birth disown, And if the unhappy Cyclop be thy son ; 30 Let not Ulysses breathe his native air, Laertes' son, of Ithaca the fair. ISO TEE ODYSSEY If to review his country be his fate, Be it through toils and sufferings, long and late. His lost companions let him first deplore : Some vessel, not his own, transport him o'er ; And when at home from foreign sufferings freed, 5 ]\Iore near and deep, domestic woes succeed ! ' .''With imprecations thus he filFd the aii', And angr}^ Neptune heard"^ the unrighteous prayer. A larger rock then hea\'ing from the plain, He whirl'd it round : it sung across the m^ain ; 10 It fell, and brush'd the stern : the billows roar, Shake at the weight, and refluent beat the shore. With all our force we kept aloof to sea. And gain'd the island where our vessels lay. Our sight the whole collected na^^^ cheer'd, 15 Who, waitmg long, hj turns had hoped and fear'd. There disembarking on the green sea-side, We land our cattle, and the spoil divide : Of these due shares to ever}' sailor fall ; The master ram was voted mine by all : 20 And him (the guardian of Ulysses' fate) With pious mind to heaven I consecrate. But the great god, whose thunder rends the skies, Averse, beholds the smoking sacrifice ; And sees me wandering still from coast to coa.st, 25 And all my vessels, all my people lost ! ''WMe thoughtless we indulge the genial rite, As plenteous cates and flowing bowls invite ; Till evening Phoebus roll'd away the light : Stretch'd on the shore in careless ease we rest, 30 TiU ruddy morning purpled o'er the east : Then from their anchors all our ships unbind. THE CICONS, LOTOPHAGI, AND CYCLOPS 181 And mount the decks, and call the willing wind. Now ranged in order on our banks, we sweep With hasty strokes the hoarse-resounding deep ; Blind to the future, pensive with our fears, Glad for the living, for the dead in tears." 5 BOOK X ARGUMENT ADVENTURES WITH .EOLUS, THE L.ESTRIGONS, AND CIRCE Ulysses arrives at the island of ^Eolus, who gives him prosperous winds, and encloses the adverse ones in a bag, which his companions untying, they are driven back again, and rejected. Then they sail to the Lsestrigons, where they lose eleven ships, and, with one only remaining, proceed to the island of Circe. Eurylochus is sent first with some companions, all which, except Eurylochus, are transformed into swine. Ulysses then undertakes the adventure, and by the help of Mercury, who gives him the herb Moly, overcomes the enchantress, and procures the restoration of his men. After a year's stay with her, he prepares at her instigation for his voyage to the infernal rjhades. "At length we reach'd folia's sea-girt shore, Where great Hippotades° the sceptre bore ; A floating isle ! High-raised by toil divine, Strong walls of brass the rocky coast confine. Six blooming j^ouths, in private grandeur bred, 5 And six fair daughters, graced the royal bed : These sons their sisters wed, and all remain Their parents' pride, and pleasure of their reign. All day they feast, all day the bowls fly round. And joy and music through the isle resound : 10 182 JEOLUS, THE L^STRIGONS, AND CIRCE 183 At night each pair on splendid carpets lay, And crown'd with love the pleasures of the day. "This happy port affords our wandering fleet A month's reception, and a safe retreat. Full oft the monarch urged me to relate 5 The fall of Ihon, and the Grecian fate ; Full oft I told : at length for parting moved ; The king with mighty gifts my suit approved. The adverse winds in leathern bags he braced, Compress'd their force, and lock'd each struggling blast : ic For him the mighty sire of gods assign'd The tempest's lord, the tyrant of the wind ; His word alone the listening storms obey, To smooth the deep, or swell the foamy sea. These in my hollow ship the monarch hung, 15 Securely fetter'd by a silver thong ; But Zephyrus° exempt, with friendly gales He charged to fill, and guide the swelUng sails : Rare gift ! but oh, w^hat gift to fools avails ? "Nine prosperous days we plied the labouring oar ; 2c The tenth presents our welcome native shore : The hills display the beacon's friendly light. And rising mountains gain upon our sight. Then first my e3^es, by watcMul toils oppressed, Comphed to take the balmy gifts of rest ; 25 Then first my hands did from the rudder part, (So much the love of home possess'd my heart) AVhen lo ! on board a long debate arose ; What rare device those vessels might enclose ? What sum, what prize from yEolus I brought ? 30 W^hilst to his neighbour each express'd his thought : 'Say, whence, ye gods, contending nations strive 184 THE ODYSSEY Who most shall please, who most our hero give ? Long have his coffers groan'd with Trojan spoils ; Whilst we, the wretched partners of his toils, Reproach'd by want, our fruitless labours mourn. And only rich in barren fame return. 5 Now iEolus, ye see, augments his store ; But come, my friends, these mystic gifts explore/ They said : and (oh cursed fate !) the thongs unbound ! The gushing tempest sweeps the ocean round ; Snatch' d in the whirl, the hurried navy flew, lo The ocean widen'd, and the shores withdrew. Roused from my fatal sleep, I long debate If still to live, or desperate plunge to fate : Thus doubting, prostrate on the deck I lay, Till all the coward thoughts of death gave wa}'. 15 '^Meanwhile our vessels plough the liquid plain, And soon the known ^olian coast regain : Our groans the rocks remurmur'd to the main. We leap'd on shore, and with, a scanty feast Our thirst and hunger hastily repress'd ; 20 That done, two chosen heralds straight attend Our second progress to my royal friend ; And him amidst his jovial sons we found ; The banquet steaming, and the goblets crown'd ; There humbh'- stopp'd with conscious shame and awe, 25 Nor nearer than the gate presumed to draw. But soon his sons their well-known guest descried, And starting from their couches loudly cried : * Ulysses here ! what demon couldst thou meet To thwart thy passage and repel thy fleet ? 3c Wast thou not furnish'd by our choicest care For Greece, for home, and all thy soul held dear ? ' ^OLUS, THE L^STRIGONS, AND CIRCE 186 Thus they ; in silence long my fate I mourn'd, At length these words with accent low returned : ' Me, lock'd in sleep, my faithless crew bereft Of all the blessings of j^our godhke gift ! But grant, O grant our loss we may retrieve : 5 A favour you, and you alone can give.' "Thus I with art to move their pity tried. And touch'd the youths ; but their stern sire replied 'Vile wi'etch, be gone ! this instant I command Thy fleet accursed to leave our hallow'd land. lo His baneful suit pollutes these bless'd abodes, Whose fate proclaims him hateful to the gods.' "Thus fierce he said : we sigiiing went our way, And with desponding hearts put off to sea. The sailors spent with toils their foll}^ mourn, 15 But mourn in vain ; no prospect of return. Six days and nights a doubtful course we steer, The next proud Lamos' stately towers appear, And Lsestrigonia's gates arise distinct in air. The shepherd quitting here at night the plain, 20 Calls, to succeed his cares, the watchful swain : But he that scorns the chains of sleep to wear, And adds the herdsman's to the shepherd's care, So near the pastures, and so short the way, His double toils may claim a double pay, 25 And join the labours of the night and day. "Within a long recess a bay there lies. Edged round with cliffs, high pointing to the skies, The jutting shores that swell on either side Contract its mouth, and break the rushing tide. 30 Our eager sailors seize the fair retreat, And bound within the port their crowded fleet : 186 THE ODYSSEY For here retired the sinldng billows sleep, And smiling calmness silver'd o'er the deep. I only in the bay refused to moor, And fix'd, without, my halsers to the shore. "From thence we climbed a point, whose airy brow f, Commands the prospect of the plains below : Xo tracks of beasts, or signs of men we found, But smok}' volumes rolling from the ground. Two with our herald thither we command, With speed to learn what men possess the land. lo They went, and kept the wheel's smooth beaten road Wliich to the citj^ drew the mountain wood ; When lo ! they met, beside a crystal spring, The daughter of Antiphates the king ; She to Artacia's silver streams came down, is (Artacia's streams alone supply the town ;) The damsel they approach, and ask'd what race The people were ? who monarch of the place ? With joy the maid the unwary strangers heard, And show'd them where the royal dome appear'd. 2c They went ; but as they entering saw the queen Of size enormous, and terrific mien, (Not yielding to° some bulky mountain's height) A sudden horror struck their aching sight. • Swift at her call her husband scour'd aw^ay 25 To wTcak his hunger on the destined prey : One for his food the raging glutton slew, But two rush'd out, and to the navy flew. ''Balk'd of his pre\^, the j^elling monster flies, And fills the city with his hideous cries ; 30 A ghastly band of giants hear the roar. And pouring dow^n the mountains, crowd the shore. ^OLUS, THE L.ESTRIGONS, AND CIRCE 187 Fragments they rend from off the craggy brow, And dash the ruins on the ships below : The crackhng vessels burst ; hoarse groans arise, And mingled horrors echo to the skies ! The men like fish they stuck upon the flood, 5 And cramm'd their filthy throats with human food. Whilst thus their fury rages at the bay, My sword our cables cut, I calFd to weigh ; And charged my men, as they from fate would fly, Each nerve to strain, each bending oar to ply. lo The sailors catch the word, their oars they seize, And sweep wdth equal strokes the smoky seas ; Clear of the rocks the impatient vessel flies ; Whilst in the port each wretch encumber'd dies. With earnest haste my frighted sailors press, is While kindling transports glow'd at our success ; But the sad fate that did our friends destroy Coord every breast, and damp'd the rising jo^^ "Now dropp'd our anchors in the vEaean bay. Where Circe° dwelt, the daughter of the daj^ ; 20 Her mother Perse of old Ocean's strain : Thus from the sun descended, and the main. (From the same lineage stern ^Esetes came. The far-famed brother of the enchantress dame) Goddess, and queen, to whom the powers belong 25 Of dreadful magic, and commanding song. Some god directing, to this peaceful bay Silent we came, and melancholy lay. Spent and o'erwatch'd. Two days and nights roU'd on, And now the third succeeding morning shone. 30 I climb'd a cliff with spear and sword in hand. Whose ridge o'erlookVl a shady length of land ; 188 THE ODYSSEY To learn if aught of mortal works appear, Or cheerful voice of mortal strike the ear. From the liigh point I mark'd in distant view, A stream of curling smoke, ascending blue, And spiry tops, the tufted trees above, 5 Of Circe's palace bosom'd in the grove. '^ Thither to haste, the region to explore, Was first my thought : but speeding back to shore I deem'd it best to \^sit first my crew. And send out spies the dubious coast to view. lo As do^^Ti the hill I solitary go, Some power di\'ine, who pities human woe, i'l^ent a tall stag, descending from the wood. To cool his fervour in the crystal flood ; Luxuriant on the wave- worn bank he lay, 15 Stretch'd forth, and panting in the sunny ray. I launch' d my spear, and with a sudden wound Transpierced his back, and fix'd him to the ground. He fails, and mourns his fate v,4th human cries : Through the ^ide wound the ^ital spirit flies. 20 I drew, and casting on the river side The bloody spear, his gather'd feet I tied With twining osiers which the bank supplied. An ell in leng-th the pliant wisp I weaved. And the huge body on my shoulders heaved ; 25 Then leaning on the spear ^ith l:)oth my hands. Upbore my load, and press'd the sinking sands With weight}'^ steps, till at the ship I tlirew The welcome burden, and bespoke my crew : 'Cheer up, my friends ! it is not yet our fate 30 To ghde mth ghosts through Pluto's° gloomy gate. Food in the desert land, behold ! is given, ^OLUS, THE L.'KSTRIGONS, AND CIRCE 189 Live, and enjoj'^ the providence of heaven/ "The joyful crew survey his mighty size, And on the future banquet feast their eyes, As huge in length extended lay the beast ; Then wash their hands, and hasten to the feast. 5 There till the setting sim roll'd down the light, They sat indulging in the genial rite. When evening rose, and darkness cover'd o'er The face of things, we slept along the shore. But when the rosy morning warm'd the east, 10 My men I summon'd, and these words address'd ' Followers and friends ; attend what I propose : Ye sad companions of Ulysses' woes ! We know not here what land before us lies. Or to what quarter now we turn our eyes, 15 Or where the sun shall set, or where shall rise. Here let us think (if thinking be not vain) If any counsel, any hope remain. Alas ! from j^onder promontory's brow, I view'd the coast, a region fiat and low ; 20 An isle encircled with the boundless flood ; A length of thickets, and entangled wood. Some smoke I saw amid the forest rise, And all around it only seas and skies ! ' ''With broken hearts my sad companions stood 25 Mindful of Cyclops and his human food. And horrid Lsestrigons, the men of blood. Presaging tears apace began to rain ; But tears in mortal miseries are vain. In equal parts I straight divide my band, 5a And name a chief each party to command. I led the one, and of the other side 190 THE ODYSSEY Appointed brave Euiylochus the guide. Then in the brazen hehn the lots we throw, And fortune casts Eurjdochus to go : He march'd, with twice eleven in his train : Pensive they march, and pensive we remain. ' 5 "The palace in a woodj' vale they found, High raised of stone ; a shaded space around : Where mountain wolves and brindled hons roam, (Bj^ magic tamed) familiar to the dome. With gentle blandishment our men they meet, 10 And wag their tails, and fawning hck their feet. As from some feast a man returning late. His faithful dogs all meet him at the gate. Rejoicing round, some morsel to receive (Such as the good man ever used to give :) 15 Domestic thus the grisly beasts drew near : T\iey gaze with wonder, not unmix'd \^^th fear. Now on the threshold of the dome they stood. And heard a voice resounding through the wood : Placed at her loom within, the goddess sung ; 20 The vaulted roofs and sohd pavement rung. O'er the fair web the rising figures shine, Immortal labour ! worth}^ hands divine. Polites to the rest the question moved, (A gallant leader, and a man I loved :) 25 ' What voice celestial, chanting to the loom, Or nymph or goddess, echoes from the room ? Say shall we seek access ? ' With that they call ; And wide unfold the portals of the hall. '^The goddess, rising, asks her guests to stay, 30 Who bhndly follow where she leads the way. Eurylochus alone of all the band, ^OLUS, THE L^STRIGONS, AND CIRCE 191 Suspecting fraud, more prudently remained. On thrones around with downy coverings graced, With semblance fair the unhappy men she placed Milk newly press'd, the sacred flour of wheat, And honey fresh, and Pramnian wines, the treat : 5 But venom'd was the bread, and mix'd the bowl, With drugs of force to darken all the soul : Soon in the luscious feast themselves they lost, And drank oblivion of their native coast. Instant her circling wand the goddess waves, 10 To hogs° transforms them, and the sty receives No more was seen the human form divine ; Head, face, and members bristle into swine : Still cursed with sense, their minds remain alone, And their own voice affrights them when they groan. 15 Meanwhile the goddess in disdain bestows The mast and acorn, brutal food ! and strows The fruits of cornel, as their feast around ; Now prone and groveling on unsavoury ground. "Eurylochus with pensive steps and slow, 20 Aghast returns ; the messenger of woe And bitter fate. To speak he made essay. In vain essay'd, nor would his tongue obey. His swelling heart denied the words their way : But speaking tears the want of words supply, 25 And the full soul bursts copious from his eye. Affrighted, anxious for our fellow^s' fates. We press to hear what sadly he relates. 'We went, Ulysses ! (such was thy command) Through the lone thicket, and the desert land. 3a A palace in a woody vale we found Brown with dark forests, and with shades around. 192 THE ODYSSEY A voice celestial echoed from the dome, Or nymph, or goddess, chanting to the loom Access we sought, nor was access denied : Radiant she came ; the portals open'd wide : The goddess mild in^dtes the guests to stay : They bhndly follow where she leads the way. I only wait behind, of all the train : I waited long, and e^'-ed the doors in vain : The rest are vanish'd, none repass'd the gate ; And not a man appears to tell their fate.' "1 heard, and instant o'er my shoulders flung The belt in which my weighty falchion hung, (A beamy blade ;) then seized the bended bow, And bade him guide the wa}^, resolved to go. He, prostrate falhng, -wdth both hands embraced ]\Iy knees, and weeping thus his suit address'd : ' 0 king beloved of Jove ! thy servant spare, And ah, th^^self the rash attempt forbear ! Never, alas ! thou never shalt return, Or see the wretched for whose loss we mourn. With what remains from certain* ruin fly, And save the few not fated yet to die.' "I answer'd stern : 'Inglorious then rem^ain. Here feast and loiter, and desert thy train Alone, unfriended, T\ill I tempt my way The laws of fate compel, and I obey.' "This said, and scornful turning from the shore My haught}^ step, I stalk'd the valley o'er. Till now approaching nigh the magic bower. Where dwelt the enchantress skill'd in herbs of power ; A form di^^ne forth issued from the wood, (Immortal Hermes° with the golden rod) .^OLUS, THE L.fCSTEIGONS, AND CIRCE 193 In human semblance. On his bloomy face Youth smiled celestial, with each opening grace. He seized my hand, and gracious thus began : ' Ah, whither roam'st thou ? much-enduring man ! 0 bUnd to fate ! what led thy steps to rove 5 The horrid mazes of this magic grove ? Each friend you seek in yon enclosure lies, All lost their form, and habitants of styes. Think'st thou by wdt to model their escape ? Sooner shalt thou, a stranger to thy shape, lo Fall prone their equal : first thy danger know, Then take the antidote the gods bestow. The plant I give through all the direful bower Shall guard thee, and avert the evil hour. Now hear her wicked arts. Before thy eyes 15 The bowl shall sparkle, and the banquet rise ; Take this, nor from the faithless feast abstain, For tempered drugs and poisons shall be vain. Soon as she strikes her wand, and gives the word, Draw forth and brandish thy refulgent sword, 20 And menace death : those menaces shall move Her alter'd mind to blandishment and love. So shall thy tedious toils a respite find. And thy lost friends return to human kind. But swear her first by those dread oaths that tie 25 The powers below, the blessed in the sky ; Lest to thee, naked, secret fraud be meant. Or magic bind thee, cold and impotent.' "Thus while he spoke, the sovereign plant he drew. Where on the all-bearing earth unmark'd it grew 30 And show'd its nature and its wondrous power : Black was the root, but milky-white the flower ; 194 THE ODYSSEY Moly the name, to mortals hard to find, But all is easy to the ethereal kind. This Hermes gave, then gliding off the glade Shot to Olympus from the woodland shade. "While full of thought, revolving fates to come, 5 I speed my passage to the enchanted dome : Arrived, before the lofty gates I stay'd ; The loft}^ gates the goddess wide display'd ; She leads before, and to the feast invites ; I follow sadly to the magic rites. 10 Radiant ^vdth starry studs, a silver seat Received my limbs ; a footstool eased m}^ feet. She mix'd the potion, fraudulent of soul ; The poison mantled in the golden bowl. I took, and quaff 'd it, confident in heaven : 15 Then waved the wand, and then the word was given. ' Hence to thy fellows ! (dreadful she began) Go, be a beast ! ' — I heard, and yet was man. ''Then sudden whirling, like a waving flame, My beamy falchion, I assault the dame, 20 Struck with unusual fear, she trembling cries, She faints, she falls ; she lifts her weeping eyes. 'What art thou? sa}^ from whence, from whom you came? O more than human ! tell thy race, thy name. Amazing strength, these poisons to sustain ! 25 Not mortal thou, nor mortal is thy brain. Or art thou he, the man to come (foretold By Hermes powerful vdih the wand of gold) The man from Troy, who wander'd ocean round : The man for wisdom's various arts renown'd, 30 Ulysses ? oh ! thy threatening fury cease, ^OLUS, THE L.ESTRIGONS, AND CIRCE 195 Sheathe thy bright sword, and join our hands in peace; Let mutual joys our mutual trust combine, And love, and love-born confidence be thine.' 'And how, dread Circe ! (furious I rejoin) Can love and love-born confidence be mine ? 5 Beneath thy charms when my companions groan, Transform'd to beasts, with accents not their own. O thou of fraudful heart ! shall I be led To share thy feast-rites, or ascend thy bed : That, all unarm'd, thy vengeance may have vent, lo And magic bind me, cold and impotent ? Celestial as thou art, yet stand denied ; Or swear that oath by w^hich the gods are tied. Swear, in thy soul no latent frauds remain, Swear by the vow which never can be vain ! ' is Ministrant to their queen with busy care Four faithJul handmaids the soft rites prepare ; Nymphs sprung from fountains, or from shady woods, Or the fair offspring of the sacred floods. One o'er the couches painted carpets threw, 20 Whose purple lustre glow'd against the view : White hnen lay beneath. Another placed The silver stands mth golden flaskets graced : With dulcet beverage this the beaker crow^n'd. Fair in the midst, with gilded cups around : 25 That in the tripod o'er the kindled pile The water pours ; the bubbhng waters boil : An ample vase receives the smoking wave ; And, in the bath prepared, my limbs I lave : Reviving sweets repair the mind's decay, 30 And take the painful sense of toil away. A vest and tunic o'er me next she threw. 196 THE ODYSSEY Fresh from the bath and dropping balnw dew ; Then led and placed me on the sovereign seat, With carpets spread ; a footstool at my feet. The golden ewer a nymph obsequious brings, Replenished from the cool translucent springs ; With copious water the bright vase supplies A silver laver of capacious size. I wash'd. The table in fair order spread, They heap the glittering canisters ^dth bread ; Viands of various kinds allure the taste, Of choicest sort and savour, rich repast ! Circe in vain imites the feast to share ; Absent I ponder, and absorbed in care "WTiile scenes of woe rose anxious in m}^ breast. The queen beheld me, and these words address'd : '^Miy sits Ulysses silent and apart, Some hoard of grief close-harbour' d at his heart ? Untouch'd before thee stand the cates diAine, And unregarded laughs the rosy \\ine. Can 3^et a doubt, or any dread remain, When sworn that oath which never can be vain ? ' ''I answer'd, 'Goddess ! human is thy breast, B}^ justice sway'd, by tender pity press'd : 111 fits it me, whose friends are sunk to beasts, To quaff thy bowls, or riot in th^^ feasts. Me wouldst thou please ? for them thy cares employ, And them to me restore, and me to joy.' " With that, she parted : in her potent hand She bore the virtue of the magic wand. Then hastening to the styes, set \^nde the door, Urged forth, and drove the bristly herd before; Unwieldy, out they rush'd, with general cry, .EOLUS, THE L.KSTRIGOXS, AND CIRCE 197 Enormous beasts dishonest to the eye. Now touch'd by counter-charms,° they change again, And stand majestic, and recall'd to men. Those hairs of late that bristled every part, Fall off ; miraculous effect of art ! 5 Till all the fonn in full proportion rise, More young, more large, more graceful to my eyes. They saw, they knew me, and with eager pace Clung to their master in a long emljrace ; Sad, pleasing sight ! with tears each eye ran o'er, lo And sobs of joy re-echoed through the bower : Even Circe wept, her adamantine heart Felt pity enter, and sustain'd her part. 'Son of Laertes ! (then the queen began) 0 much-enduring much-experienced man ! 15 Haste to thy vessel on the sea-beat shore. Unload thy treasures, and the galley moor : Then bring thy friends, secure from future harms, And in our grottos stow thy spoils and arms.' "She said. Obedient to her high command 20 1 quit the place, and hasten to the strand. My sad companions on the beach I found, Their \vistful eyes in floods of sorrow drown'd. As from fresh pastures and the d^^jy field (When loaded cribs their evening banquet 3aeld) 25 The lowing herds return ; around them throng With leaps and bounds their late-imprison'd young, Rush to their mothers ^vith unruly joy. And echoing hills return the tender cry : So round me press'd, exulting at my sight, 30 With cries and agonies of wild delight, The weeping sailors, nor less fierce their joy 198 THE ODYSSEY Than if return'd to Ithaca from Troy. 'Ah, master ! ever honour'd, ever dear, (These tender words on ever}^ side I hear) What other jo}'- can equal thy return? Not that loved country for whose sight we mourn, The soil that nursed us, and that gave us breath : But, ah ! relate our lost companions' death.' "I answer 'd cheerful : ^ Haste, your gallej^ moor, And bring our treasures and our arms ashore : Those in yon hollow caverns let us lay ; lo Then rise and follow where I lead the way. Your fellovA^s live : believe your eyes, and come To taste the joj^s of Circe's sacred dome.' ''With readj^ speed the joj^ul crew obey : Alone Eur^^lochus persuades their stay. is ' Wliither (he cried) ah whither vnW ye run ? Seek ye to meet those e\dls yq should shun ? Will 3^ou the terrors of the dome explore, In s^\^ne to grovel, or in hons roar, Or wolf-like howl awa}^ the midnight hour 20 In dreadful watch around the magic bower ? Remember Cj'clops, and liis bloody deed ; The leader's rashness made the soldiers bleed.' "I heard incensed, and first resolved to speed M}^ flying falchion at the rebel's head. 25 Dear as he was, by ties of kindred bound, This hand had stretch'd him breathless on the ground • But all at once ni}^ interposing train For mercy pleaded, nor could plead in vain. ' Leave here the man who dares liis prince desert 30 Leave to repentance and his own sad heart. To guard the ship. Seek we the sacred shades ^OLUS, THE LyESTRIGONS, AND CIRCE 19^ Of Circe's palace, where Ulysses leads.' "This with one voice declared, the rising train Left the black vessel by the murmuring main. Shame touch'd Eurylochus's alter'd breast, He fear'd my threats, and follow'd with the rest. s ''Meanwhile the goddess, with indulgent cares And social joys, the late-transform' d repairs; The bath, the feast, their fainting soul renews ; Rich in refulgent robes, and dropping balmy dews : Brightening with joj^ their eager eyes behold lo Each other's face, and each his story told ; Then gushing tears the narrative confound. And with their sobs the vaulted roofs resound. When hush'd their passion, thus the goddess cries : 'Ulysses, taught by labours to be wise, 15 Let this short memory of grief suffice. To me are known the various woes ye bore, In storms by sea, in perils on the shore ; Forget whatever was in fortune's power. And sh^re the pleasures of this genial hour. 20 Such be your minds as ere ye left your coast, Or learn'd to sorrow for a country lost. Exiles and wanderers now, where'er ye go. Too faithful memory renews your woe : The cause renew'd, habitual griefs remain, 25 And the soul saddens by the use of pain.' "Her kind intreaty moved the general breast ; Tired ^vith long toil, we willing sunk to rest. We plied the banquet and the bow we crown'd, Till the full circle of the year came round. 30 But when the seasons, following in their train, Brought back the months, the daj's, and hours again ; 200 THE ODYSSEY As from a lethargy at once they rise, And urge their chief with animating cries. ' Is this, Ulysses, our inglorious lot ? And is the name of Ithaca forgot ? Shall never the dear land in prospect rise, 5 Or the loved palace glitter in our eyes ? ' "Melting I heard; yet till the sun's decline Prolong'd the feast, and quaff'd the rosy wine : But when the shades came on at evening hour. And all lay slumbering in the dusky bower ; lo I came a supphant to fair Circe's bed, The tender moment seized, and thus I said : ' Be mindful, goddess, of thy promise made ; Must sad Ulysses ever be delay 'd ? Around their lord nw sad companions mourn, 15 Each breast beats homeward, anxious to return : If but a moment parted from thy eyes, Their tears flow round me, and my heart complies.' 'Go then (she cried) ah go ! yet think, not I, Not Circe, but the fates your \^dsh deny. • 20 Ah hope not yet to breathe thy native air ! Far other journey first demands thy care ; To tread the uncomfortable paths beneath, And view the realms of darloiess and of death. There seek the Theban bard,° deprived of sight ; 25 Within, irradiate with prophetic light ; To whom Persephone, ° entire and whole. Gave to retain the unseparated soul : The rest are forms, of empty ether made ; Impassive semblance, and a flitting shade.' 30 ''Struck at the word, my very heart was dead : Pensive I sat ; my tears bedew'd the bed ; ^OLUS, THE L.ESTRIGONS, AND CIRCE 201 To hate the light and Hfc my soul begun, And saw that all was grief beneath the sun. Composed at length, the gushing tears suppress'd, And my toss'd limbs now wearied into rest, 'How shall I tread (I cried), ah, Circe ! say, 5 The dark descent, and who shall guide the way ? Can living eyes behold the realms below ? What bark to waft me, and what wind to blow ?' 'Thy fated road (the magic power replied) Divine Ulysses ! asks no mortal guide. 10 Rear but the mast, the spacious sail display, The northern winds shall wing thee on thy way. Soon shalt thou reach old ocean's utmost ends, Where to the main the shelving shore descends ; The barren trees of Proserpine's black woods, 15 Poplars and willows trembling o'er the floods : There fix thy vessel in the lonely baj'-. And enter there the kingdoms void of day : Where Phlegethon's° loud torrents rushing down, Hiss in the flaming gulf of Acheron ; 20 And where, slow rolling from the Stygian bed, Cocytus' lamentable waters spread : Where the dark rock o'erhangs the infernal lake, And mingling streams eternal murmurs make- First draw thy falchion, and on every side ?.s Trench the black earth a cubit long and wide ; To all the shades around libations pour,^ And o'er the ingredient strew the hallow'd flour : New wine and milk, with honey temper'd, bring. And living water from the crystal spring. 30 Then the wan shades and feeble ghosts implore. With promised offerings on thy native shore : THE ODYSSEY A barren cow the stateliest of the isle, And, heap'd with various wealth, a blazing pile : These to the rest ; but to the seer must bleed A sable ram, the pride of all thy breed. These solemn vows and holy offerings paid 5 To all the phantom-nations of the dead ; Be next thy care the sable sheep to place Full o'er the pit, and hell-ward turn their face : But from the infernal rite thine eye withdraw, And back to ocean glance ^dth reverend awe. lo Sudden shall skim along the dusky glades Thin airy shoals of visionar}^ shades. Then give command the sacrifice to haste. Let the flay'd \ictims in the flame be cast. And sacred vows, and mj'stic song applied 15 To grisly Pluto, and his gloomy bride. Wide o'er the pool thy falchion waved around Shall drive the spectres from forbidden ground : The sacred draught shall all the dead forbear. Till 2Lvdu[ from the shades arise the seer. 20 Let him, oraculous,° the end, the way. The turns of all thy future fate display, Thy pilgrimage to come, and remnant of thy day.' ''So speaking, from the ruddy orient shone The morn conspicuous on her golden throne. 25 The goddess wath a radiant tunic dress'd My limbs, and o'er me cast a silken vest. Long flowing robes, of purest white, array The njmiph that added lustre to the day : A tiar° \\Teath'd her head with many a fold ; 30 Her waist was circled with a zone of gold. Forth issuing then, from place to place I flew ; J^OLUS, THE LA'JSTRIGONS, AND CIRCE 203 Rouse man by man, and animate my crew. * Rise, rise, my mates ! 'tis Circe gives command : Our journey calls us ; haste, and quit the land.' All rise and follow, yet depart not all, For fate decreed one wretched man to fall. 5 '^4 youth there was, Elpenor was he named, Not much for sense, nor much for courage famed ; The youngest of our band, a ^oilgar soul Born but to banquet, and to drain the bowl. He, hot and careless, on a turret's height lo With sleep repair'd the long debauch of night : The sudden tumult stirr'd him where he lay, And down he hasten'd, but forgot the way ; Full headlong from the roof the sleeper fell, And snapp'd the spinal joint, and waked in hell. is ''The rest- crowd round me with an eager look, I met them with a sigh, and thus bespoke : 'Already, friends ! ye think your toils are o'er, Your hopes alread\^ touch your native shore : Alas ! far otherwise the nymph declares, 20 Far other journey first demands our cares ; To tread the uncomfortable paths beneath, The dreary realms of darkness and of death : To seek Tiresias' awful shade below. And thence our fortunes and our fates to know.' 25 "My sad companions heard in deep despair; Frantic they tore their manl}^ growth of hair ; To earth they fell ; the tears began to rain ; But tears in mortal miseries are vain. Sadly they fared along the sea-beat shore ; 30 Still heaved their hearts, and still their eyes ran o'er. The readj^ victims at our bark we found, 2t^ THE ODYSSEY The sable ewe, and ram, together bound : :For swift as thought the goddess° had been there, ibid thence had ghded, \aewless as the air : The paths of gods what mortal can survey ? Who e3^es their motion, who shall trace their way ? BOOK XI ARGUMENT THE DESCENT INTO HELL Ulysses continues his narration — How he arrived at the land of the Cimmerians, and what ceremonies he performed to invoke the dead. The manner of his descent, and the apparition of the shades : his conversation with Elpenor, and with Tiresias, who informs him in a prophetic manner of his fortunes to come. He meets his mother Anticlea, from whom he learns the state of his family. He sees the shades of the ancient heroines, afterwards of the heroes, and converses in particulaj' with Agamemnon and Achilles. Ajax keeps at a sullen distance, and disdains to answer him. He then beholds Tityus, Tantalus, Sisyphus, Hercules : till he is deterred from further curi- osity by the apparition of horrid spectres, and the cries of the wicked in torments. "Now to the shores we bend, a mournful train Chmb the tall bark, and launch into the main : At once the mast we rear, at once unbind The spacious sheet, and stretch it to the wind : Then pale and pensive stand, with cares oppressed, 5 And solemn horror saddens every breast. A freshening breeze the magic power supplied, While the wing'd vessel flew along the tide ; Our oars we shipp'd : all day the swelling sails 205 206 THE ODYSSEY Full from the guiding pilot catch'd the gales. ''Now sunk the sun from his aerial height, And o'er the shaded billows rush'd the niglit : When lo ! we reaeh'd old Ocean's utmost bounds, Where rocks control his waves with ever-during mounds. 5 "There in a lonely land, and gloom}- cells. The dusky nation of Cimmeria dwells ; The sun ne'er ^aews the uncomfortable seats, When radiant he advances or retreats : Unhappy race ! whom endless night invades, 10 Clouds the dull air, and wTaps them round in shades. ''The sliip we moor on these obscure abodes; Disbark the sheep, an offering to the gods ; And hell-ward bending, o'er the beach descry The dolesome° passage to the im^ernal sk3^ 15 The victims, vow'd to each Tartarean power, Eurylochus and Perimedes bore. "Here open'd° hell, all hell I here implored, And from the scabbard drew the shining sword ; , And trenching the black earth on ever}- side, 20 A cavern form'd, a cubit long and vdde. Xew v,ine, with honey-temper 'd milk we bring. Then living waters from the crystal spring ; O'er these was strew'd the consecrated flour, And on the surface shone the holy store. 25 "Now the wan shades we hail, the infernal gods, To speed our course, and waft us o'er the floods ; So shaU a barren heifer from the staU Beneath the knife upon 3-our altars fall ; So in our palace, at our safe return, 30 Rich with unnumber'd gifts the pile shall burn ; So shall a ram the largest of the breed, THE DESCENT INTO HELL 207 Black as these regions, to Tiresias bleed. ''Thus solemn rites and holy vows we paid To all the phantom-nations of the dead. Then died the sheep ; a purple torrent flowed, And all the caverns smoked with streaming blood. 5 When lo ! appeared along the dusky coasts, Thin, airy shoals of visionarj^ ghosts ; Fair pensive youths, and soft enamour'd maids ; And wither 'd elders, pale and wrinkled shades ; Ghastly with wounds, the forms of warriors slain lo Stalk'd with majestic port, a martial train: These and a thousand more swarm'd o'er the ground, And all the dire assembly shriek'd around. Astonish'd at the sight, aghast I stood, And a cold fear ran shivering through my blood: 15 Straight I command the sacrifice to haste. Straight the fiay'd victims to the flames are cast, And mutter'd vows, and mystic song, apphed To grisly Pluto, and his gloomy bride. ''Now swift I waved my falchion o'er the blood ; 20 Back started the pale throngs, and trembhng stood. Round the black trench the gore untasted flows. Till awful from the shades Tiresias rose. "There wandering through the gloom, I first survey 'd. New to the realms of death, Elpenor's shade : 25 His cold remains all naked to the sky, On distant shores unwept, unburied lie. Sad at the sight I stand, deep fix'd in woe, And ere I spoke the tears began to flow. '0 say what angry power Elpenor led 30 To gUde in shades, and wander with the dead ? How could thy soul, by realms and seas disjoin'd, 208 TEE ODYSSEY Outfly the nimble sail, and leave the lagging wind?' ''The ghost replied : 'To hell my doom I owe, Demons accursed, dire ministers of woe ! My feet, through wine unfaithful to their weight, Betray'd me tumbling from a towery height : 5 Staggering I reel'd, and as I reel'd I fell, Lux'd the neck-joint — my soul descends to hell. But lend me aid, I now conjure thee, lend. By the soft tie and sacred name of friend ! By thy fond consort ! by thy father's cares ! lo By loved Telemachus's blooming years ! For well I know that soon the heavenly powers Will give thee back to day and Circe's shores : There pious on my cold remains attend, There call to mind thy poor departed friend ; is The tribute of a tear is all I crave, And the possession of a peaceful grave. But if, unlieard, in vain compassion plead. Revere the gods, the gods avenge the dead ! A tomb along the watery^ margin raise, 20 The tomb with manly arms and trophies grace, To show posterity Elpenor was. There high in air, memorial of my name, Fix the smooth car, and bid me live to fame.' "To whom with tears : 'These rites, O mournful shade, ! Due to thy ghost, shall to thy ghost be paid.' zC "Still as I spoke, the phantom seem'd to moan. Tear follow'd tear, and groan succeeded groan. But as my waving sword the blood surrounds. The shade w^ithdrew, and mutter'd empty sounds. 30 "There as the wondrous -v-isions I survey'd, AU pale ascends my royal mother's shade : THE DESCENT INTO HELL 209 A queen, to Troy she saw our legions pass ; Now a thin form is all Anticlea was ! Struck at the sight I melt with filial woe, And down my cheek the pious sorrows flow. Yet as I shook my falchion o'er the blood, $ Regardless of her son the parent stood. '^When lo ! the mighty Theban° I behold; To guide his steps he bore a staff of gold : Awful he trod ! majestic was his look ! And from his holy lips these accents broke : lo 'Why, mortal, wander'st thou from cheerful day, To tread the downward melancholy way ? What angry gods to these dark legions led Thee 3^et alive,° companion of the dead ? But sheathe thy poniard, v/hile my tongue relates 15 Heaven's stedfast purpose, and thy future fates.' "^Vhile yet he spoke, the prophet I obey'd. And in the scabbard plunged the glittering blade. Eager he quaff 'd the gore, and then express'd Dark things to come, the counsels of his breast. 20 'Weary of hght, Ulysses here explores A prosperous voyage to his native shores : But know — by me unerring Fates disclose New trains of dangers, and new scenes of woes ; I see ! I see, thy bark by Neptune toss'd, 25 For injured Cyclops,° and his eye-ball lost ! Yet to thy woes the gods decree an end. If heaven thou please ; and how to please attend ! Where on Trinacrian rocks the ocean roars, Graze numerous herds along the verdant shores ; 30 Though hunger press, yet fly the dangerous prey, The herds are sacred to the god of day, p 210 THE ODYSSEY Who all survGA^s with his extensive eye, Above, below, on earth, and in the sky ! Rob not the god, and so propitious gales Attend thy voyage, and impel thy sails ; But if his herds ye seize, beneath the waves • 5 I see thy friends o'erwhelm'd in liquid graves ! The direful wreck Ulysses scarce sur^dves ! Ulysses at his country scarce arrives ! Strangers thy guides ! nor there thy labours end, New foes arise, domestic ills attend ! 10 There foul adulterers to thy bride resort. And lordl}^ gluttons" riot in thy court. But vengeance hastes amain ! These ej'es behold The deatliful scene,° princes on princes rolFd ! That done, a people far from sea explore, 15 Who ne'er knew salt, or heard the billows roar, Or saw gay vessels stem the watery plain, A painted wonder flying on the main ! Bear on thy back an oar : with strange amaze A shepherd meeting thee, the oar survej^s, 20 And names a van° : there fix it on the plain. To calm the god that holds the watery reign ; A threefold offering to his altar bring, A bull, a ram, a boar ; and hail the ocean-king. But home returri'd, to each ethereal power 25 Slay the due victim in 'the genial hour : So peaceful shalt thou end thy blissful days, And steal thyself from life by slow decays : Unknown to pain, in age resign thy breath. When late stern Neptune points the shaft with death, 30 To the dark grave retiring as to rest. Thy people blessing, by thy people bless'd ! THE DESCENT INTO HELL 211 ' Unerring truths, 0 man, my lips relate ; Tliis is thy life to come, and this is fate.' ''To whom mimoved : 'If this the gods prepare, What heaven ordains, the wise with courage bear. But say, why yonder on the lonely strands, 5 Unmindful of her son, Anticlea stands ? Why to the ground she bends her downcast eye ? Why is she silent, while her son is nigh ? The latent cause, 0 sacred seer, reveal.' 'Nor this (replies the seer) will I conceal. 10 Know ; to the spectres, that th.y beverage taste, The scenes of life recur, and actions pass'd ; They, seal'd with truth, return the sure reply ; The rest, repell'd, a train obhvious fly.' "The phantom-prophet ceased, and sunk from sight 15 To the black palace of eternal night. "Still in the dark abodes of death I stood. When near Anticlea moved, and drank the blood. Straight all the mother in her soul awakes. And, owning her Ulysses, thus she speaks : 20 ' Comest thou, my son, alive, to realms beneath, The dolesome realms of darkness and of death ? Comest thou alive from pure ethereal day ? Dire is the region, dismal is the way ! Here lakes profound, there floods oppose their waves, 25 There the ^^^de sea with all his billows raves ! Or (since to dust proud Troj^ submits her towers) Comest thou a wanderer from the Phrygian shores ? Or say, since honour call'd thee to the field, Hast thou thy Ithaca, thy bride, beheld ? ' 30 'Source of my life, (I cried) from earth I fly To seek Tiresias in the nether sky. 212 THE ODYSSEY To learn my doom ; for, toss'd from woe to woe, In everj' land Ulj^sses finds a foe : Nor have these ej^es beheld my native shores, Since in the dust proud Troj' submits her towers. 'But, when thy soul from her sweet mansion fled, 5 Say, what distemper gave thee to the dead ? Has life's fair lamp declined by slow decays, Or sv\'ift expired it in a sudden blaze ? Say, if my sire, good old Laertes, lives ? If yet Telemachus, my son, survives ? 10 Say, by his rule is my dominion awed. Or crush'd by traitors with an iron rod ? Say, if my spouse maintains her royal trust, Though tempted, chaste, and obstinately just? Or if no more her absent lord she wails, 15 But the false woman o'er the ^^^fe prevails ? "Thus I : and thus the parent-shade returns : ' Thee, ever thee, thy faithful consort mourns : Whether the night descends, or day prevails, Thee she by night, and thee by day beAvails : 20 Thee in Telemachus thy realm obeys^ ; In sacred groves celestial rites he pays, And shares the banquet in superior state, Graced wdth such honours as become the great. Thy sire in solitude foments his care : 25 The court is jo^^less, for thou art not there ! No costly carpets raise his hoary head. No rich embroidery shines to grace his bed ; Even when keen winter freezes in the skies, Rank'd with his slaves, on earth the monarch lies, 30 Deep are his sighs, his visage pale, his dress The garb of woe and habit of distress. THE DESCENT INTO HELL 213 And when the autumn takes his annual round, The leafy honours scattering on the ground ; Regardless of his years, abroad ho lies, His bed the leaves, his canopy the skies. Thus cares on cares his painful days consume, 5 And bow his age with sorrow to the tomb ! ' For thee, m}^ son, I wept my life away ; For thee through hell's eternal dungeons stray : Nor came my fate b}^ lingering pains and slow, Nor bent the silver-shafted queen her bov*- ; lo No dire disease bereaved me of my breath ; Thou, thou, my son, wert mj- disease and death ; Unkindly with my love my son conspired. For thee I lived, for absent thee expired.' '^Thrice in my arms I strove her shade to bind, 15 Thrice through my arms she slipp'd like empty wind,° Or dreams, the vain illusions of the mind. Wild with despair, I shed a copious tide Of flowing tears, and thus with sighs replied : ' Fly'st thou, loved shade, while I thus fondly mourn ? 20 Turn to my arms, to ni}' embraces turn ! Is it, ye powers that smile at human harms. Too great a bliss to weep within her arms ? Or has hell's queen an emptj^ image sent. That \ATetched I might even my joys lament ?' 25 '0 son of woe ! (the pensive shade rejoin'd) 0 most inured to grief of all mankind ! 'Tis not the queen of hell who thee deceives : All, all are such, when life the body leaves ; No more the substance of the man remains, 30 Nor bounds the blood along the purple veins : These the funereal flames in atoms bear, 214 THE ODYSSEY To wander with the wind m empty air ; While the impassive soul reluctant flies, Like a vain dream, to these infernal skies. But from the dark dominions speed th}- waj"-, And climb the steep ascent to upper day ; 5 To thy chaste bride the wondrous story tell, The woes, the horrors, and the laws of hell.' ''Thus while she spoke, in swarms hell's empress brings Daughters and wives of heroes and of kings ; Thick, and more thick, thej^ gather round the blood, lo Ghost throng'd on ghost (a dire assembljO stood ! Dauntless my sword I seize : the airy crew, Swift as it flash'd along the gloom, withdrew ; Then shade to shade in mutual form succeeds, Her race recounts, and their illustrious deeds. 15 "TjTO began : whom great Salmoneus bred ; The royal partner of famed Cretheus' bed. For fair Enipeus, as from fruitful urns He pours his water}'- store, the virgin burns ; Smooth flows the gentle stream with wanton pride, 20 And in soft mazes rolls a silver tide. As on his banks the maid enamour 'd roves, The monarch of the deep beholds and loves ; In her Enipeus' form and borrow^'d charms. The amorous god descends into her arms ; 25 Around, a spacious arch of waves he tln-ow^s, And high in air the liquid mountain rose ; Then softly sighing, he the fair address'd. And as he spoke her tender hand he press'd: 'Hail, happy nymph ! no vulgar births are owed 30 To the prolific raptures of a god. Lo ! when nine times the moon renews her horn, THE DESCENT INTO HELL 215 Two brother heroes shall from thee be born ; Thy early care the future worthies claim, To point them to the arduous paths of fame ; But in thy breast the important truth conceal, Nor dare the secret of a god reveal : 5 For know, thou Neptune view'st ! and at my nod Earth trembles, and the waves confess their god.' "He added not, but mounting spurn'd the plain, Then plunged into the chambers of the main. "Now in the time's full process forth she brings ic Jove's dread vicegerents, in tvv^o future kings ; O'er proud lolcos Pelias stretch'd his reign. And godlike Neleus ruled the Pylian plain : Then fruitful, to her Cretheus' royal bed She gallant Pheres and famed ^son bred : 15 From the same fountain Am;>i;haon rose. Pleased with the din of war, and noble shout of foes. "There moved Antiope with haughty charms, "Who bless'd the almighty thunderer in her arms : Hence sprung Amphion, hence brave Zethus came, 20 Founders of Thebes, and men of mighty name ; Though bold in open field, they yet surround The town wdth walls, and mound inject on mound; Here ramparts stood, there towers rose high in air. And here through seven wide portals rush'd the war. 25 "There with soft step the fair Alcmena trod. Who bore Alcides to the thundering god; And Megara, who charm' d the son of Jove, And soften'd his stern soul to tender love. "Sullen and sour \\dth discontented mien 30 Jocasta frown'd, the incestuous Theban queen ; With her own son she join'd in nuptial bands, 216 THE ODYSSEY Though father's blood imbrued his murderous hands : The gods and men the dire offence detest, The gods with all their furies rend his breast : In lofty Thebes he wore the imperial crown, A pompous wretch, accursed upon a throne ! 5 The wife seh-murder'd from a beam depends, And her foul soul to blackest hell descends ; Thence to her son the choicest plague she brings, And the fiends haunt him with a thousand stings. '^\nd now the beauteous Cliloris I descry, 10 A lovely shade, Amphion's youngest joy ! With gifts unnumber'd Xeleus sought her arms, Nor paid too dearly for unequal'd charms; Great in Orchomenos, in Pylos great, He sway'd the sceptre with imperial state. 15 Tln-ee gallant sons the joyful monarch told, Sage Xestor, Periclymenus the bold. And Cliromius last ; but of the softer race, One n^inph alone, a miracle of grace. Ivings on their thrones for lovely Pero burn, 20 The sire denies, and kings rejected mourn. To him alone the beauteous prize he fields, Whose arm should ravish from Phylacian fields The herds of Iphiclus, detain'd in wrong ; Wild, furious herds, unconquerably strong ! 25 This dares a seer, but nought the seer prevails, In beauty's cause illustriously he fails ; Twelve moons the foe the captive youth detains In painful dungeons, and coercive chains ; The foe at last, from durance where he laj'-, 30 His art revering, gave him back to day ; Won by prophetic knowledge, to fulfil THE DESCENT INTO HELL 217 The steadfast purpose of the almighty will, "With graceful port advancing now I spied Leda the fair, the godlike Tyndar's bride : Hence Pollux sprung, who wields with furious sway The deatliful gauntlet, matchless in the fray : 5 And Castor glorious on the embattled plain Curbs the proud steed, reluctant to the rein : By turns they visit this ethereal sky, And live alternate, and alternate die ! In hell beneath, on earth, in heaven above, lo Reign the twin-gods, the favourite sons of Jove. "There Iphimedia trod the gloomy plain. Who charm'd the monarch of the boundless main ; Hence Ephialtes, hence stern Otus sprung, j\Iore fierce than giants, more than giants strong: 15 The earth o'erburden'd groan'd beneath their weight, None but Orion e'er surpassed their height : The wondrous youths had scarce nine winters told, Wlien high in air, tremendous to behold. Nine ells aloft they rear'd their towering head, 20 .And full nine cubits broad their shoulders spread. Proud of their strength, and more than mortal size, The gods they challenge, and affect the skies ; Heaved on Olympus tottering Ossa stood ; On Ossa, Pehon nods with all his wood : 25 Such were they youths ! had they to manhood grown. Almighty Jove had trembled on liis throne. But ere the harvest of the beard began To bristle on the chin, and promise man, His shafts Apollo aim'd ; at once they sound, 30 And stretch the giant-monsters o'er the ground. "There mournful Phaedra with sad Procris moves, 218 THE ODYSSEY Both beauteous shades, both hapless in their loves ; And near them walk'd, with solemn pace and slow, Sad Ariadne, partner of their woe : The roj^al Minos Ariadne bred, She Theseus loved ; from Crete with Theseus fled ; 5 Swift to the Dian isle the hero flies, And towards his Athens bears the lovely prize ; There Bacchus with fierce rage Diana fires. The goddess aims her shaft, the njmiph expires. "There Chmiene and Maera I behold; 10 There Eriphyle weeps, who loosel}^ sold Her lord, her honour, for the lust of gold. But should I all recount, the night would fail, Unequal to the melancholy tale ; And all-composing rest my nature craves, 15 Here in the court, or yonder on the waves : In you I trust, and in the heavenly powers, To land Ulysses on his native shores." He ceased ; but left so charming on their ear His voice, that listening still they seem'd to hear. 20 Till rising up. Arete silence broke. Stretch' d out her snowy hand, and thus she spoke : "What wondrous man heaven sends us in our guest ! Through all Ms woes the hero shines confessed ; His comely port-, his ample frame, express 25 A manly air, majestic in distress. He, as my guest, is my peculiar care ; You share the pleasure, — then in bounty share ; To worth in misery, a reverence paj^. And with a generous hand reward his stay ; 30 j For since kind heaven vnih wealth our realm has bless'd, ' Give it to heaven, by aiding the distress'd." THE DESCENT INTO HELL 219 Then sage Echeneus, whose grave reverend brow The hand of time had silver'd o'er with snow, Mature in wisdom rose : "Your words (he cries) Demand obedience, for j^our words are wise ; But let our king direct the glorious waj^ 5 To generous acts ; our part is to obey." "While life informs these limbs, (the king replied) Well to deserve, be all m}^ cares employ'd : But here this night the royal guest detain, Till the sun flames along the ethereal plain : lo Be it my task to send with ample stores The stranger from our hospitable shores : Tread you my steps ! 'Tis mine to lead the race, The first in glory, as the first in place." To whom the prince : "This night with joy I stay, 15 0 monarch great in virtue as in sway ! If thou the circling j^ear my stay control, To raise a bount}': noble as thy soul ; The circling year I wait, with ampler stores And fitter pomp to hail my native shores : 20 Then by my realms due homage would be paid ; For wealthy kings are loyally obey'd !" "0 king ! for such thou art, and sure thy blood Through veins (he cried) of ro\^al fathers ilow'd ; Unlike those vagrants who on falsehood live, 25 Skill'd in smooth tales, and artful to deceive ; Thy better soul abhors the liar's part. Wise is thy voice, and noble is thy heart. Thy Yv'ords like music every breast control, Steal through the ear, and win upon the soul ; 30 Soft, as some song divine, thy story flows, N'or better could the muse record thy woes. 220 THE ODYSSEY "But say, upon the dark and dismal coast Saw'st thou the worthies of the Grecian host ? The godhke leaders who, in battle slain, Fell before Troy, and nobly press'd the plain ? And lo ! a length of night behind remains, The evening stars still mount the ethereal plains. Thy tale with raptures I could hear thee tell, Thy woes on earth, the wondrous scenes in hell, Till in the vault of heaven the stars decay. And the sky reddens with the rising day." "0 w^orthy of the power the gods assigned, (Ulysses thus rephes) a king in mind ! Since yet the early hour of night allows Time for discourse, and time for soft repose, If scenes of misery can entertain, Woes I unfold, of woes a dismal train. Prepare to hear of murder and of blood Of godlike heroes who uninjured stood Amidst a war of spears in foreign lands, Yet bled at home, and bled by female hands. "Now summon'd Proserpine to hell's black hall The heroine shades ; they vanish'd at her call. "When lo ! advanced the forms of heroes slain By stern ^Eg^^sthus," a majestic train, And high above the rest, Atrides press'd the plain. He quaff 'd the gore ; and straight his soldier knew, And from his e^^es pour'd down the tender dew ; His arms he stretch'd ; his arms the touch deceive, Nor in the fond embrace, embraces give : His substance vanish'd and his strength decay'd. Now all Atrides is an empty shade. "Moved at the sight, I for a space resigned THE DESCENT INTO HELL 221 To soft affliction all my manly mind ; At last with tears — ^ Oh, what relentless doom, Imperial phantom, bow'd thee to the tomb ? Say, while the sea, and while the tempest raves. Has fate oppress'd thee in the roaring waves : 5 Or nobly seized thee in the dire alarms Of war and slaughter, and the clash of arms ? ' "The ghost returns : '0 chief of human kind For active courage and a patient mind ; Nor while the sea, nor while the tempest raves, lo Has fate oppress'd me on the roaring waves : Xor nobly seized me in the dire alarms Of war and slaughter, and the clash of arms. Stabb'd by a murderous hand Atrides died, A foul adulterer, and a faithless bride ; is Even in my mirth, and at the friendly feast, O'er the full bowl, the traitor stabb'd his guest; Thus by the gory arm of slaughter falls The stately ox, and bleeds within the stalls. But not with me the direful murder ends, 20 These, these expired ! their crime, they were my friends : Thick as the boars, which some luxurious lord Kills for the feast, to crown the nuptial board. When war has thunder'd with its loudest storms, Death thou hast seen in all her ghastly forms ; 25 In duel met her on the listed ground. When hand to hand they wound return for wound ; But never have thy eyes astonish'd view'd So vile a deed, so dire a scene of blood. Even in the flow of joy, when now the bowl 30 Glows in our veins and opens every soul, We groan, we faint ; with blood the dome is dyed, 222 THE ODYSSEY And o'er the pavement floats the dreadful tide — Her breast all gore, with lamentable cries, The bleeding innocent Cassandra° dies ! Then though pale death froze cold in every vein, ]\Iy sword I strive to wield, but strive in vain ; Xor did my traitoress wife these ej^ehds close, Or decently in death my limbs compose. 0 woman, woman ! when to ill thy mind Is bent, all hell contains no fouler fiend : And such was mine ! who basely plunged her sword Through the fond bosom where she reign'd adored ! Alas ! I hoped, the toils of war o'ercome, To meet soft quiet and repose at home : Delusive hope ! 0 wife, thy deeds disgrace The perjured sex, and blacken all the race ; And should posterity one \4rtuous find, Name Clji:emnestra, they will curse the kind.' '0 injured sliade, (I cried) what mighty woes To thy imperial race from woman rose ! By woman here thou tread'st this mournful strand, And Greece by woman lies a desert land.' ^Warn'd by my ills beware, (the shade replies) Nor trust the sex that is so rarely wise ; "VMien earnest to explore thy secret breast, Unfold some trifle, but conceal the rest. But in th}" consort cease to fear a foe. For thee she feels sinceritj^ of woe. When Troy first bled beneath the Grecian arms, She shone unrival'd with a blaze of charms, Thy infant son her fragrant bosom press'd, Hung at her knee, or wanton'd at her breast ; But now the years a numerous train have ran ; THE DESCENT INTO HELL 223 The blooming boy is ripen'd into man ; Thj^ eyes shall see him burn \vith noble fire, The sire shall bless his son, the son his sire ; But m}^ Orestes never met these eyes, Without one look the murder'd father dies ; 5 Then from a wretched friend this wisdom learn, Even to thy queen disguised, unknown, return ; For since of womankind so few are just. Think all are false, nor even the faithful trust. ' But say, resides my son in royal port, lo In rich Orchomenos, or Sparta's court ? Or sa3', in Pyle ? for yet he views the light, Xor glides a phantom through the realms of night.' ''Then I : 'Thy suit is vain, nor can I say If yet he breathes in realms of cheerful day; 15 Or pale or wan beholds these nether skies : Truth I revere ; for \^dsdom never lies.' "Thus in a tide of tears our sorrows flow, And adds new horror to the realms of woe ; Till side by side along the dreary coast 20 Advanced Achilles'° and Patroclus' ghost, A friendl}^ pair ! near these the Pylian stray'd, And towering Ajax, an illustrious shade ! War was his joy, and pleased ^dth loud alarms. None but Pehdes brighter shone in arms. 25 "Through the thick gloom his friend Achilles knew. And as he speaks the tears descend in dew : ' Comest thou alive to view the Stygian bounds. Where the wan spectres walk eternal rounds ; Nor fear'st the dark and dismal waste to tread, 3a Throng'd with pale ghosts, familiar mth the dead ? ' "To whom with sighs : 'I pass these dreadful gates 224 THE ODYSSEY To seek the Theban, and consult the fates : For still distress'd I rove from coast to coast, Lost to mx friends, and to my country lost. But sure the eye of time beholds no name So bless'd as thine in all the rolls of fame ; 5 Alive we hail'd thee with our guardian gods, And, dead, thou rulest a king in these abodes.' 'Talk not of ruling, in this dolorous gloom. Nor think vain words (he cried) can ease my doom. Rather Fd choose laboriously to bear lo A weight of woes, and breathe the vital air A slave to some poor hind that toils for bread, Than reign the sceptred monarch of the dead. But say, if in my steps Yn.y son proceeds, And emulates his godlike father's deeds ? 15 If at the clash of arms, and shout of foes. Swells his bold heart, his bosom nobly glov/s ? Say if my sire, the reverend Peleus, reigns Great in his Phthia, and his throne maintains ; Or weak and old, my youthful arm demands, 20 To fix the sceptre stedfast in his hands ? 0 might the lamp of life rekindled burn. And death release me from the silent urn ! This arm that thunder'd o'er the Phrj^gian plain. And swell'd the ground ■v\dth mountains of the slain Should vindicate m^^ injured father's fame. Crush the proud rebel, and assert his claim.' 'Illustrious shade ! (I cried) of Peleus' fates No circumstance the voice of fame relates : But hear with pleased attention the renown. The wars and -wisdom of thy gallant son : With me from Sc\tos to the field of fame THE DESCENT INTO HELL 225 Radiant in arms the blooming hero came. When Greece assembled all her hundred states To ripen counsels, and decide debates ; Heavens ! how he charm'd us w4th a flow of sense, And won the heart with manly eloquence ! S He first was seen of all the peers to rise, The third in wisdom, where they all were wise ; But when, to try the fortune of the day. Host moved toward host in terrible array, Before the van, impatient for the fight, ic With martial port he strode, and stern delight ; Heaps strew'd on heaps beneath his falchion groan And monuments of dead deform 'd the ground. The time would fail should I in order tell What foes were vanquished, and what numl^ers fell, 15 How, lost through love, Euryp3'lus was slain. And round him bled his bold Cetsean train. To Troy no hero came of nobler line. Or if of nobler, Memnon, it was thine. 'WTien Ilion in the horse° received her doom, 20 And unseen armies ambush'd in its womb ; Greece gave her latent warriors to my care, 'Twas mine on Troy to pour the imprison'd war : Then when the boldest bosom beat -^ath fear. When the stern eyes of heroes dropp'd a tear ; 25 Fierce in his look his ardent valour glow'd, Flush'd in his cheek, or sallied in his blood ; Indignant in the dark recess he stands, Pants for the battle, and the war demands ; His voice breathed death, and with a martial air 30 He grasp'd his sword, and shook his glittering spear. And when the gods our arms with conquest crown'd. 226 THE ODYSSEY When Troy's proud bulwarks smoked upon the ground, Greece, to reward her soldier's gallant toils, Heap'd high his navy v/ith unnumber'd spoils. 'Thus great in glory, from the din of war Safe he returned without one hostile scar ; 5 Thotigh spears in iron tempest rain'd around, Yet innocent they play'd, and guiltless of a wound.' ''While yet I spoke, the shade with transport glow'd, Rose in his majesty, and nobler trod ; With haughty stalk he sought the distant glades 10 Of warrior-kings, and join'd the illustrious shades. "Xow^ wdthout number ghost by ghost arose, All wailing with unutterable v\^oes. Alone, apart, in discontented mood, A gloomy shade, the sullen Ajax stood ; 15 For ever sad, \sdth proud disdain he pined, And the lost arms° for ever stung his mind ; Though to the contest Thetis gave the laws, And Pallas, by the Trojans, judged the cause. Oh wh}^ was I victorious in the strife ! 20 0 dear-bought honour with so brave a life ! With him the strength of war, the soldiers' pride, Our second hope to great Achilles, died ! Touch'd at the sight from tears I scarce refrain, And tender sorrow thrills in every vein ; 25 Pensive and sad I stand, at length accost With accents mild the inexorable ghost : ' Still burns thy rage ? and can brave souls resent Even after death ? Relent, great shade, relent ! Perish those arms which by the gods' decree 30 Accursed our army with the loss of thee ! With thee we fell ; Greece wept thy hapless fates ; THE DESCENT INTO HELL 227 And shook astonish'd through her hundred states ; Not more, when great Achilles prcss'd the ground, And breathed his manly spirit through the wound. O deem thy fall not owed to man's decree, Jove hated Greece, and punish'd Greece in thee ! 5 Turn then, Oh peaceful ! turn, thy wrath control, And calm the raging tempest of thy soul.' "While yet I speak, the shade disdains to staj^, In silence turns, and sullen stalks away. "Touch'd at liis sour retreat, through deepest night, 10 Through hell's black bounds I had pursued his flight, And forced the stubborn spectre to reply ; But wondrous visions drew my curious eye. High on a throne, tremendous to behold. Stern Minos° waves a mace of burnish'd gold ; 15 Around ten thousand thousand spectres stand Through the vdde dome of Dis, a trembling band. Still as they plead, the fatal lots he rolls, Absolves the just, and dooms the guiit}^ souls. ''There huge Orion, of portentous size, 20 Swift through the gloom a giant-hunter flies ; A pondrous mace of brass with direful sway Aloft he whirls, to crush the savage prey ; Stern bep.sts in trains that by his truncheon fell. Now grisly forms, shoot o'er the lawns of hell. 25 "There Tityus large and long, in fetters bound, O'erspread nine acres of infernal ground ; Two ravenous vultures, furious for their food. Scream o'er the fiend, and riot in his blood, Incessant gore the liver in his breast, 30 The immortal hver grows, and gives the immortal feast : For as o'er Panope's enamel'd plains 228 THE ODYSSEY Latona journey'd to the P3i:hian fanes, ° With haughty love the audacious monster strove To force the goddess, and to rival Jove. "There Tantalus° along the Stygian bounds Pours our deep groans (with groans all hell resounds) ; s Even in the circling floods refreshment craves, And pines with thirst amidst a sea of waves : When to the water he his lip applies. Back from his hp the treacherous water flies. Above, beneath, around his hapless head, lo Trees of all kinds delicious fruitage spread ; There figs skj^-dyed, a purple hue chsclose. Green looks the ohve, the pomegranate glows, There dangling pears exalted scents unfold, And yellow apples ripen into gold ; is The fruit he strives to seize : but blasts arise, Toss it on high, and wliirl it to the skies. "I turn'd my eye, and as I turn'd survay'd A mournful vision ! the Sisypliian shade. ° With many a wear}'- step, and manj- a groan, 20 Up the liigh hill he heaves a huge round stone ; The huge round stone, resulting with, a bound, Thunders impetuous dowTi, and smokes along the ground. Again the restless orb his toil renews, Dust mounts in clouds, and sweat descends in dews. 25 "Xow I the strength of Hercules behold, A towering spectre of gigantic mould, A shadowy form ! for high in heaven's abodes Himself resides, a god among the gods ; There in the bright assemblies of the skies, 30 He nectar quaffs, and Hebe° crowns his joys. Here hovering ghosts, Uke fowl, liis shade surround, THE DESCENT INTO HELL 229 And clang their pinions with terrific sound ; Gloomy as night he stands, in act to throw The aerial arrow from the twanging bow. Around his breast a wondrous zone° is roll'd, Where woodland monsters grin in fretted gold : s There sullen lions sternl}^ seem to roar, The bear to growl, to foam the tusky boar ; There war and havoc and destruction stood, And vengeful murder red with human blood. Thus terribly adorn'd the figures shine, lo Inimitably wrought 'with skill di^dne. The mighty ghost advanced with awful look, And turning his grim visage, sternly spoke : ' 0 exercised in grief ! by arts refined ! 0 taught to bear the uTongs of base mankind ! 15 Such, such was I ! still toss'd from care to care, While in your world I drew the vital air ! Even I who from the Lord of thunders rose, Bore toils and dangers, and a weight of woes ; To a base monarch still a slave confined, 20 (The hardest bondage to a generous mind !) Down to these worlds I trod the dismal way And dragg'd the three-mouth'd dog° to upper day ; Even hell I conquer'd, through the friendly aid Of ]Maia's° offspring and the martial maid.' 25 ''Thus he, nor deign'd for our reply to stay, But turning stalk'd ^vith giant-strides away. ''Curious to view the kings of ancient days, The mighty dead that live in endless praise, Resolved I stand ; and haply had surveyed 3a The godlike Theseus, and Pirithous' shade ; But swarms of spectres rose from deepest hell, 230 THE ODYSSEY With bloodless \asage, and \^'ith hideous yell, They scream, they shriek ; sad groans and dismal sounds Stun my scared ears, and pierce hell's utmost bounds. No more my heart the dismal din sustains, And my cold blood hangs shivering in my veins ; s Lest Gorgon" rising from the infernal lakes. With horrors arm'd, and curls of hissing snakes. Should fix me, stiffened at the monstrous sight, A stony image, in eternal night ! Straight from the direful coast to purer air la I speed my flight, and to my mates repair. My mates ascend the ship ; they strike their oars ; The mountains lessen, and retreat the shores ; Swift o'er the waves we fiy ; the freshening gales Sing through the shrouds, and stretch the swelling sails." 15 BOOK XII ARGUMENT THE SIRENS, SCYLLA, AND CHARYBDIS He relates, how, after his return from the shades, he was sent by Circe on his voyage, by the coast of the Sirens, and by the strait of Scylla and Charybdis ; the manner in which he escaped those dangers : how, being cast on the island Trinacria, his companions destroyed the oxen of the sun ; the vengeance that followed : how all perished by shipwreck except himself, who, swimming on the mast of the ship, arrived on the island of Calypso. With which his narration con- cludes. ''Thus o'er the rolling surge the vessel flies, Till from the waves the JE3SSin.° hills arise. Here the gay Morn resides in radiant bowers, Here keeps her revels with the dancing Hours ; Here Phoebus, ° rising in the ethereal way, 5 Through heaven's bright portals pours the beamy day. At once we fix our halsers on the land. At once descend, and press the desert sand ; There, worn and wasted, lose our cares in sleep, To the hoarse murmurs of the rolling deep. la ''Soon as the morn restored the day, we paid Sepulchral honours to Elpenor's shade. Now by the axe the rushing forest bends, 231 232 THE ODYSSEY And the huge pile along the shore ascends. Around we stand, a melanchol}' train, .And a loud groan re-echoes from the main. Fierce o'er the pyre, b}^ fanning breezes spread, The hungry flame devours the silent dead. s A rising tomb, the silent dead to grace. Fast by the roarings of the main we place ; The rising tomb a lofty column bore, And high above it rose the tapering oar. "Meantime the goddess our return survey 'd lo From the pale ghosts, and hell's tremendous shade. Swift she descends : a train of nymphs di^4ne Bear the rich \iands and the generous vnne. In act to speak, the power of magic stands, And graceful thus accosts the hstening bands : 15 '0 sons of woe ! decreed by adverse fates Ahve to pass through hell's eternal gates ! All, soon or late, are doora'd that path to tread ; More wTetched you, t^ice number'd with the dead ! This day adjourn your cares : exalt your souls, 20 Indulge the taste, and drain the sparkling bowls ; And when the morn unveils her saffron ray. Spread your broad sails, and plough the liquid way : Lo ! I this night, your faithful guide, explain Your woes by land, 3^our dangers on the main.' 25 ''The goddess spoke ; in feasts we waste the day. Till Phoebus downward plunged his burning ray ; Then sable night ascends, and balm}' rest Seals every eye, and calms the troubled brea.st. Then, curious, she commands me to relate 30 The dreadful scenes of Pluto's dreary state ; She sat in silence while the tale I tell, THE SIRENS, SCYLLA, AND CHARY BD IS 233 The wondrous visions, and the laws of hell. "Then thus : 'The lot of man the gods dispose ; These ills are past ; now hear thy future woes. O prince, attend ; some favouring power be kind, And print the important story on thy mind ! 5 'Next, where the Sirens° dwell, you plough the seas ; Their song is death, and makes destruction please. Unbless'd the man, whom music wins to stay Nigh the cursed shore, and listen to the lay ; No more that wretch shall vieAv the joys of life, 10 His blooming offspring, or his beauteous wife ! In verdant meads they sport, and wide around Lie human bones, that whiten all the ground ; The ground polluted floats with human gore, And human carnage taints the dreadful shore. 15 Fly swift the dangerous coast ; let every ear Be stopp'd against the song : 'tis death to hear ! Firm to the mast with chains thyself be bound. Nor trust thy \irtue to the enchanting sound. If, mad with transport, freedom thou demand, 20 Be everj^ fetter strain'd, and added band to band. 'These seas o'erpass'd, be wise ! but I refrain To mark distinct iYiy voyage o'er the main : New horrors rise ! let prudence be thy guide, And guard thy various passage through the tide. 25 'High o'er the main two rocks° exalt their brow, The boiling billows thundering roll below ; Through the vast waves the dreadful wonders move, Hence named Erratic by the gods above. No bird of air, no dove of swiftest wing, 30 That bears ambrosia to the ethereal king. Shuns the dire rocks : in vain she cuts the skies. 234 THE ODYSSEY The dire rocks meet, and crush her as she flies. Xot the fleet bark, when prosperous breezes play, Ploughs o'er that roaring surge its desperate way; O'erwhelm'd it sinks : while round a smoke expires, And the waves flashing seem to burn with fires. 5 Scarce the famed Argo° pass'd these raging floods, The sacred Argo, fill'd with demigods ! Even she had sunk, but Jove's imperial bride Wing'd her fleet sail, and push'd her o'er the tide. 'High in the air the rock its summit shi'ouds lo In brooding tempests, and in rolling clouds ; Loud storms around and mists eternal rise, Beat its bleak brow, and intercept the skies. When all the broad expansion, bright with day, Glows ^ith the autumnal or the summer ray, 15 The summer and the autumn glow in vain, The sky for ever lours, for ever clouds remain. Impervious to the step of man it stands, Though borne by twenty feet, though arm'd with twenty hands ; Smooth as the pohsh of the mirror, rise 20 The slipper}^ sides, and shoot into the skies. FuU in the centre of this rock display'd, A yawning cavern casts a dreadful shade : Nor the fleet arrow fjom the twanging bow, Sent with full force, could reach the depth below. 25 Wide to the west the horrid gulf extends, And the dire passage down to hell descends. O fl}" the dreadful sight ! expand thy sails. Ply the strong oar, and catch the nimble gales : Here Sc^dla" bellows from her dire abodes, 30 Tremendous pest ! abhorr'd by man and gods ! THE SIRENS, SCYLLA, AND CHARYBDIS 235 Hideous her voice, and with less terrors roar The whelps of lions in the midnight hour. Twelve feet, deform'd and foul, the fiend dispreads ; Six horrid necks she rears, and six terrific heads ; Her jaws grin dreadful with three rows of teeth ; s Jaggy they stand, the gaping den of death ; Her parts obscene the raging billows hide ; Her bosom terribly o'erlooks the tide. When stung with hunger she embroils the flood, The sea-dog and the dolphin are her food ; lo She makes the huge leviathan her pre\''. And all the monsters of the watery way ; The swiftest racer of the azure plain Here fills her sails and spreads her oars in vain ; Fell Scylla rises, in her fury roars, 15 At once six mouths expands, at once six men devours. ' Close by, a rock of less enormous height Breaks the wild waves, and forms a dangerous strait ; Full on its crown a fig's green branches rise, And shoot a leafy forest to the skies ; 20 Beneath, Charybdis holds her boisterous reign 'Midst roaring whirlpools, and absorbs the main ; Thrice in her gulfs the boiling seas subside. Thrice in dire thunders she refunds the tide. Oh if thy vessel plough the direful waves 25 When seas retreating roar within her caves. Ye perish all ! though he who rules the main Lend his strong aid, his aid he lends in vain. Ah shun the horrid gulf ! by Scylla flj^, 'Tis better six to lose, than all to die.' 30 "I then : '0 nj^mph propitious to my prayer, Goddess divine, my guardian power, declare, THE ODYSSEY Is the foul fiend from human vengeance freed ? Or if I rise in arms, can Sc3dla bleed ? ' ''Then she : '0 worn by toils, 0 broke in fight, Still are new toils and war th}^ dire delight ? Will martial flames for ever fire thj'- mind, 5 And never, never be to heaven resign 'd ? How vain th^^ efforts to avenge the wrong ! Deathless the pest ! impenetrably strong ! Furious and fell, tremendous to behold ! P]ven with a look she withers all the bold ! 10 She mocks the weak attempts of human might : 0 fly her rage ! thy conquest is thy flight. If but to seize thy arms thou make delay, Again the fury \andicates her prey, Her six mouths yawn, and six are snatch'd away. 15 From her foul womb Crataeis gave to air This dreadful pest ! To her direct thy prayer, To curb the monster in her dire abodes. And guard thee through the tumult of the floods. Thence to Trinacria's° shore yo\i bend your way, 20 Where graze thy herds, illustrious source of day ! Seven herds, seven flocks, enrich the sacred plains, Each herd, each flock, full fifty heads contains ; The wondrous kind a length of age survey, By breed increase not, nor bj^ death decay. 25 Two sister goddesses possess the plain. The constant guardians of the w^oolly train ; Lampetie fair, and Phaethusa young, From Phoebus and the bright Xesera sprung : Here watchful o'er the flocks, in shad^^ bowers 30 And flowery meads they waste the joj^ous hours. Rob not the god ! and so propitious gales THE SIRENS, SCYLLA, AND CHARYBDIS 237 Attend thy voyage, and impel thy sails ; But if thy impious hands the flocks destroy, The gods, the gods avenge it, and jq die ! 'Tis thine alone (thy friends and naw lost) Through tedious toils to view thy native coast.' 5 "She ceased : and now arose the morning ray; Swift to her dome the goddess held her way. Then to my mates I measured back the plain, Climb'd the tall bark, and rush'd into the main ; Then bending to the stroke, their oars they drew 10 To their broad breasts, and swift the galley flew. Up sprung a brisker breeze ; with freshening gales The friendly goddess stretch'd the swelling sails : We drop our oars ; at ease the pilot guides ; The vessel Ught along the level ghdes. 15 A\lien 'rising sad and slow, with pensive look Thus to the melanchoh" train I spoke : '0 friends, oh ever partners of my woes, Attend while I what heaven foredooms disclose : Hear all ! fate hangs o'er all ! on you it hes 20 To live, or perish ; to be safe, be wise ! 'In flower}^ meads the sportive Sirens play, Touch the soft lyre, and tune the vocal lay ; Me, me alone, with fetters firmly bound. The gods allow to hear the dangerous sound. 25 Hear and obey : if freedom I demand. Be every fetter strain'd, be added band to band.' ''While yet I speak the winged galley flies, And lo I the Siren shores like mists arise. Sunk were at once the winds ; the air above, 30 And waves below, at once forgot to move ! Some demon calm'd the air, and smooth'd the deep, 238 THE ODYSSEY Hush'd the loud winds, and charm'd the waves to sleep. Now every sail we furl, each oar we ply : Lash'd by the stroke the frothy waters fly. The ductile wax \dth busy hands I mould. And cleft in fragments, and the fragments roll'd ; S The aerial region now grew warm with day, The wax dissolved beneath the burning ray ; Then every ear I barr'd against the strain, And from excess of frenzy lock'd the brain. Xow round the mast my mates the fetters roU'd, lo And bound me limb by limb, with fold on fold. Then bending to the stroke, the active train Plunge all at once their oars, and cleave the main. ''While to the shore the rapid vessel flies, Our S'^ift approach the Siren cjuire descries ; 15 Celestial music warbles from their tongue, And thus the sweet deluders tune the song : '0 stay, 0 pride of Greece ! Ulysses, stay ! 0 cease thy course, and listen to our lay ! Bless'd is the man ordain'd our voice to hear, 20 The song instructs the soul, and charms the ear. Approach ! thy soul shall into raptures rise I Approach ! and learn new \^^sdom from the wise ! We know whate'er the Idngs of mighty name Achieved at Ihon in the field of fame ; 25 "\"\Tiate'er beneath the sun's bright journey Ues. 0 stay, and learn new wisdom from the ^ise ! ' "Thus the sweet charmers warbled o'er the main; '^ly soul takes wing to meet the heavenly strain ; 1 give the sign, and struggle to be free : 30 S^"ift row my mates, and shoot along the sea ! Xew chains the}" add, and rapid urge the way, THE SIRENS, SCYLLA, AND CHARYBDIS 239 Till, djang off, the distant sounds decay : Then scudding swiftly from the dangerous ground, The deafen'd ear unlock'd, the chains unbound. "Now all at once tremendous scenes unfold ; Thunder'd the deeps, the smoking billows roll'd ! 5 Tumultuous waves embroil'd the bellowing flood ; All trembhng, deafen'd, and aghast we stood ! No more the vessel plough'd the dreadful wave, Fear seized the mighty, and unnerved the brave ; Each dropp'd his oar : but svv'ift from man to man 10 With look serene I turn'd, and thus began : ' 0 friends ! Oh often tried in adverse storms ! With ills familiar in more dreadful forms ! Deep in the dire Cyclopean den j-ou lay, Yet safe return'd — Ulysses led the Vv^ay. 15 Learn courage hence ! and in my care confide : Lo ! still the same Ulysses is your guide ! Attend my words ! your oars incessant ply ; Strain every nerve, and bid the vessel fly. If from yon justling° rocks and wavy war 20 Jove safety grants, he grants it to your care. And thou whose guiding hand directs our way, Pilot, attentive listen and obe}^ ; Bear wide thy course, nor plough those angrj^ waves Where rolls yon smoke, yon tumbling ocean raves : 25 Steer b}^ the higher rock ; lest whirl'd around We sink, beneath the circling eddy drown'd.' ''While yet I speak, at once their oars they seize, Stretch to the stroke, and brush the working seas. Cautious the name of Scylla I suppressed ; 3a That dreadful sound had chill'd the boldest breast. "Meantime, forgetful of the voice di\dne, 240 THE ODYSSEY All dreadful bright my limbs in armour shine ; High on the deck I take my dangerous stand, Two glittering javelins lighten in my hand ; Prepared to whirl the whizzing spear I stay, Till the fell fiend arise to seize her prey. 5 Around the dungeon, studious to behold The hideous pest, my labouring eyes I rolFd ; In vain ! the dismal dungeon, dark as night, Veils the dire monster, and confounds the sight. "Now through the rocks, appall'd with deep dismay, lo We bend our course, and stem the desperate way ; Dire Scylla there a scene of horror forms, And here Charybdis fills the deep with storms. AATien the tide rushes from her rumbling caves . The rough rock roars ; tumultuous boil the waves : 15 They toss, they foam, a wild confusion raise, Like waters bubbling o'er the fierj^ blaze ; Eternal mists obscure the aerial plain. And high above the rock she spouts the main ! When in her gulfs the rushing sea subsides, 20 She drains the ocean with the refluent tides. The rock rebellows \vith a thundering sound ; Deep, wondrous deep below, appears the ground. "Struck with despair, ^-ith trembling hearts we view'd The yawning dungeon, and the tumbhng flood ; 25 When lo ! fierce Scylla stoop'd to seize her prey, Stretch'd her dire jaws, and swept six men away; Chiefs of renown ! loud echoing shrieks arise ; I turn and \dew them quivering in the skies ; They call, and aid wdth outstretch' d arms implore : 30 In vain they call ! those arms are stretch'd no more. As from some rock that overhangs the flood. THE SIRENS, SCYLLA, AND CHARYBDIS 241 The silent fisher casts the insidious food, With fraudful care lie waits the finny prize, And sudden lifts it quivering to the skies : So the foul monster lifts her prey on high, So pant the wretches, struggling in the ^k.y ; S In the wdde dungeon she devours her food, And the flesh trembles while she churns the blood. Worn as I am with griefs, with care decay'd ; Never, I never, scene so dire survej^'d ! My shivering blood, congeal'd, forgot to flow : lo Aghast I stood, a monument of woe ! ''Now from the rocks the rapid vessel flies, And the hoarse din like distant thunder dies ; To Sol's bright isle our voyage we pursue. And now the glittering mountains rise to view. is There, sacred to the radiant god of day. Graze the fair herds, the flocks promiscuous stray ; Then suddenly was heard along the main To low the ox, to bleat the woolly train ! Straight to my anxious thoughts the sound convey'd 20 The words of Circe and the Theban shade ; Warn'd bj^ their awful voice these shores to shun, With cautious fears oppress'd, I thus begun : ' 0 friends ! Oh ever exercised in care ! Hear heaven's commands, and reverence what ye hear ! 25 To fly these shores the prescient Theban shade And Circe warns ! O be their voice obey'd ! Some mighty woe relentless heaven forebodes : Fh' these dire regions, and revere the gods ! ' "While yet I spoke, a sudden sorrow ran 30 Through every breast, and spread from man to man. Till wrathful thus Eurylochus began : 242 THE ODYSSEY '0 cruel thou ! some fury sure has steel'd That stubborn soul, b}^ toil untaught to yield ! From sleep debarr'd, we sink from woes to woes ; And, cruel, enviest thou a short repose ? Still must we restless rove, new seas explore, 5 The sun descending, and so near the shore ? And lo ! the night begins her gloomj' reign, And doubles all the terrors of the main. Oft in the dead of night loud winds arise. Lash the wild surge, and bluster in the skies ; lo Oh should the fierce south-west his rage display, And toss with rising storms the watery way. Though gods descend from heaven's aerial plain To lend us aid, the gods descend in vain : Then while the night displays her aw^ul shade, is Sweet time of slumber ! be the night obey'd ! Haste ye to land ! and when the morning ray Sheds her bright beams, pursue the destined way.' "A sudden joy in every bosom rose ; So will'd some demon, minister of woes ! 20 "To whom with grief : *0 s^dft to be undone, Constrain'd I act what wisdom bids me shun. But yonder herds and yonder flocks forbear ; Attest the heavens, and call the gods to hear : Content, an innocent repast display, 25 By Circe given, and fl}^ the dangerous prey.' ''Thus I : and while to shore the vessel flies, With hands uplifted thej^ attest the skies ; Then where a fountain's gurgling waters play, They rush to land, and end in feasts the day : 30 They feed ; they quaff ; and now (their hunger fled) Sigh for their friends devour'd, and mourn the dead. THE SIRENS, SCYLLA, AND CHARYBDIS 243 Nor cease the tears, till each in slumber shares A sweet forgetfulness of human cares. ''Now far the night advanced her gloomy reign, And setting stars roll'd down the azure plain : When, at the voice of Jove, wild whirl\\ands rise, 5 And clouds and double darkness veil the skies ; The moon, the stars, the bright ethereal host, Seem as extinct, and all their splendours lost ; The furious tempest roars with dreadful sound : Air thunders, rolls the ocean, groans the ground. lo All night it raged ; when morning rose, to land We haul'd our bark, and moor'd it on the strand, Where, in a beauteous grotto's cool recess Dance the green Nereids of the neighbouring seas. ''There, while the ^\dld winds whistled o'er the main, 15 Thus careful I address'd the listening train : ' 0 friends, be wise ! nor dare the flocks destroy Of these fair pastures : — if ye touch, yQ die. Warn'd b}^ the high command of heaven, be awed ; Holy the flocks, and dreadful is the god ! 20 That god who spreads the radiant beams of light. And views wide earth, and heaven's unmeasured height.' "And now the moon had run her monthly round. The south-east blustering with a dreadful sound ; Unhurt the beeves, untouch'd the woolly train, 25 Low through the grove, or range the flowery plain : Then fail'd our food ; then fish we make our prey, Or fowl that screaming haunt the watery way. Till now from sea or flood no succour found, Famine and meagre want besieged us round. 3a Pensive and pale from grove to grove I stray'd, From the loud storms to find a sylvan shade ; 244 THE ODYSSEY There o'er my hands the Hving wave I pour ; And heaven, and heaven's immortal thrones adore, To calm the roarings of the stormj^ main, And grant me peaceful to my realms again. Then o'er my eyes the god soft slumber shed, 5 While thus Eurjdochus, arising, said : ' 0 friends, a thousand ways frail mortals lead To the cold tomb, and dreadful all to tread ; But dreadful most, when by a slow decay Pale hunger wastes the manly strength away. 10 Why cease ye then to implore the powers above, And offer hecatombs to thundering Jove ? Whj^ seize ye not yon beeves, and fleec}^ pre}' ? Arise unanimous ; arise and slay ! And if the gods ordain a safe return, 15 To Phoebus shrines shall rise, and altars burn. But should the powers that o'er mankind preside. Decree to plunge us in the whelming tide, Better to rush at once to shades below. Than linger life away, and nourish woe ! ' 20 "Thus he : the beeves around securely stray, When swift to ruin they invade the prey ; They seize, they kill ! — but for the rite divine. The barley fail'd, and for libations, wine. Swift from the oak they strip the shady pride ; 25 And verdant leaves the flowery cake supplied. " With prayer they now address the ethereal train, Slay the selected beeves, and flay the slain ; The thighs, with fat involved, di\ide wdth art. Strew' d o'er with morsels cut from every part. 30 Water, instead of wine, is brought in urns. And pour'd profanel}^ as the victim burns. THE SIRENS, SCYLLA, AND CHARYBDIS 245 The thighs thus offer'd, and the entrails dress'd, They roast the fragments, and prepare the feast. '"Twas then soft slumber fled my troubled brain; Back to the bark I speed along the main. When lo ! an odour from the feast exhales, S Spreads o'er the coast, and scents the tainted gales ; A chilly fear congeaPd my vital blood, And thus, obtesting heaven, I mourn'd aloud : ' 0 sire of men and gods, immortal Jove ! Oh all ye blissful powers that reign above ! lo Why were my cares beguiled in short repose ? 0 fatal slumber, paid with lasting woes ! A deed so dreadful all the gods alarms, Vengeance is on the wing, and heaven in arms ! ' "Meantime Lampetie mounts the aerial way, is And kindles into rage the god of day : 'Vengeance, ye powers (he cries), and thou whose hand Aims the red bolt, and hurls the writhen brand ! Slain are those herds which I with pride survey, When through the ports of heaven I pour the day, 20 Or deep in ocean plunge the burning ray. Vengeance, ye gods ! or I the skies forego. And bear the lamp of heaven to shades below.' ''To whom the thundering power : ' 0 source of day ! Whose radiant lamp adorns the azure way, 25 Still may thy beams through heaven's bright portals rise, The joy of earth, and glory of the skies ; Lo ! my red arm I bare, vay thunders guide. To dash the offenders in the whelming tide.' "To fair Calypso from the bright abodes, 30 Hermes convey'd these counsels of the gods. "Meantime from man to man my tongue exclaims. 246 THE ODYSSEY My wrath is kindled, and my soul in flames. In vain ! I view perform'd the direful deed, Beeves, slain b}^ heaps, along the ocean l^leed. "Now heaven gave signs of wrath ; along the ground Crept the raw hides, and with a bellowing sound 5 Roar'd the dead hmbs ; the burning entrails groan'd. Six guilty days ni}^ wretched mates emploj' In impious feasting, and unhallow'd joy : The seventh arose, and now the sire of gods Rein'd the rough storms, and calm'd the tossing floods ; lo "With speed the bark we climb ; the spacious sails Loosed from the yards invite the impelhng gales. Past sight of shore along the surge we bound. And all above is skj^, and ocean all around ! When lo ! a murky cloud the thunderer forms 15 Full o'er our heads, and blackens heaven with storms. Night dwells o'er all the deep : and now out flies The gloomy west, and whistles in the skies. The mountain-biUows roar ! the furious blast Howls o'er the shroud, and rends it from the mast ; 20 The mast gives way, and crackling as it bends. Tears up the deck ; then aU at once descends ; The pilot by the tumbling ruin slain, Dash'd from the helm, faUs headlong in the main. Then Jove in anger bids his thunders roU, 25 And forky lightnings flash from pole to pole : Fierce at our heads liis deadly bolt he aims. Red with uncommon wrath, and \\Tapp'd in flames ; FuU on the bark it fefl : now high, now low, Toss'd and retoss'd, it reel'd beneath the blow ; 30 At once into the main the crew it shook : Sulphureous odours rose, and smouldering smoke. THE SIRENS, SCYLLA, AND CHARYBDIS 247 Like fowl that haunt the floods, they sink, they rise. Now lost, now seen, with shrieks and dreadful cries ; And strive to gain the bark ; but Jove denies. Firm at the helm I stand, when fierce the main Rush'd with dire noise, and dash'd the sides in twain ; s Again impetuous drove the furious blast, Snapp'd the strong helm, and bore to sea the mast. Firm to the mast \\^th cords the helm I bind. And ride aloft, to Providence resigned. Through tumbling billows, and a war of wind. lo ''Now sunk the west, and now a southern breeze, More dreadful than the tempest, lash'd the seas ; For on the rocks it bore where Scylla raves. And dire Charybdis rolls her thundering waves. All night I drove ; and, at the dawn of da}^, 15 Fast by the rocks beheld the desperate way : Just when the sea within her gulfs subsides, And in the roaring whirlpools rush the tides, Swift from the float I vaulted with a bound. The lofty fig-tree seized, and clung around ; 2c So to the beam the bat tenacious chngs. And pendent round it clasps his leathern wings. High in the air the tree its boughs display 'd, And o'er the dungeon cast a dreadful shade ; All unsustain'd between the wave and sky, 25 Beneath m.y feet the whirhng billows fly. What time the judge forsakes the noisy bar To take repast, and stills the wordy war, Charybdis, rumbling from her inmost caves, The mast refunded on her refluent waves. 3a Swift from the tree, the floating mast to gain, Sudden I dropp'd amidst the flashing main ; 248 THE ODYSSEY Once more undaunted on the ruin rode, And oar'd wath labouring arms along the flood. Unseen I pass'd by ScyUa's dire abodes : So Jove decreed (dread sire of men and gods). Then nine long days I plough'd the calmer seas, Heaved by the surge, and wafted by the breeze. Weary and wet the Og3^gian° shores I gain, When the tenth sun descended to the main. There in Calypso's ever-fragrant bowers Refresh'd I lay, and joy beguiled the hours. ''My follo-sAang fates to thee, 0 king, are known, And the bright partner of thy royal throne. Enough ; in misery can words avail ? And what so tedious as a twice-told tale?" BOOK XIII ARGUMENT THE ARRIVAL OF ULYSSES AT ITHACA Ulysses takes his leave of Alcinous and Arete, and embarks in the jvening. Next morning the ship arrives at Ithaca ; where the sailors, IS Ulysses is yet sleeping, lay him on the shore with all his treasures. 3n their return, Neptune changes their ship into a rock. In the nean time Ulysses, awaking, knows not his native Ithaca, by reason )f a mist which Pallas had cast round him. He breaks into loud amentations ; till the goddess, appearing to him in the form of a ihepherd, discovers the country to him, and points out the particular )laces. He then tells a feigned story of his adventures, upon which ihe manifests herself, and they consult together of the measures to be aken to destroy the suitors. To conceal his return, and disguise his )erson the more effectually, she changes him into the figure of an old >eggar. He ceased ; but left so pleasing on their ear His voice, that listening still they seem'd to hear. A pause of silence hush'd the shady rooms : The grateful conference then the king resumes : ' "Whatever toils the great Ulysses pass'd, S Beneath this happy roof they end at last : No longer now from shore to shore to roam, Smooth seas, and gentle \Nands, invite him home. But hear me, princes ! whom these walls inclose, 249 250 THE ODYSSEY For whom mj^ chanter sings, and goblet flows With wine unmix'd (an honour due to age, To cheer the grave, and warm the poet's rage :) Though labour'd gold and iwany a dazzling vest Lie heap'd already for our godlike guest ; 5 Without new treasures let him not remove, Large, and expressive of the public love : Each peer a tripod, each a vase bestow, A general tribute, which the state shall owe." This sentence pleased : then all their steps address'd lo To separate mansions, and retired to rest. Now did the rosy-finger'd morn arise. And shed her sacred hght along the skies. Down to the haven and the ships in haste They bore the treasures, and in safety placed. 15 The king himseh the vases ranged with care : Then bade his followers to the feast repair. A victim ox beneath the sacred hand Of great Alcinous falls, and stains the sand. To Jove the eternal (power above all powers ! 2c A^Tio wings the winds, and darkens heaven with showers,) The flames ascend : till evening they prolong The rites, more sacred made by heavenly song : For in the midst, ^^ith public honours graced, Th}' hTe divine, Demodocus ! was placed. 25 All, but LHysses, heard ^^'ith fix'd delight : He sat, and eyed the sun, and wish'd the night ; Slow seem'd the sun to move, the hours to roll. His native home deep-imaged in his soul. As the tired plougliman spent with stubborn toil, 30 Whose oxen long have torn the furrow'd soil, Sees vnih. deUght the sun's declining ray. THE ARRIVAL OF ULYSSES AT ITHACA 251 When home, with feeble knees, he bends his way To late repast (the clay's hard labour done :) So to Ulysses welcome set the sun. Then instant, to Alcinous and the rest (The Scherian states°) he turn'd, and thus address'd : s " 0 thou, the first in merit and command ! And 3'-ou the peers and princes of the land ! May every joy be yours ! nor this the least, When due hbation shall have crov/n'd the feast, Safe to my home to send j^our happy guest. lo Complete are now the bounties you have given : Be all those bounties but confirm'd by heaven ! So ma}^ I find, when all my wanderings cease, My consort blameless, and my friends in peace. On you be every bliss ; and every day, 15 In home-felt joys delighted, roll away; Yourselves, your wives, your long-descending race, May every god enrich wnth every grace ! Sure jBx'd on \drtue may your nation stand. And public e\al never touch the land !" 20 His words well weigh'd, the general voice approved Benign, and instant his dismission moved. The monarch to Pontonous gave the sign, To fill the goblet high with rosy wine. ''Great Jove the father, first (he cried) implore; 25 Then send the stranger to his native shore." The luscious wine the obedient herald brought ; Around the mansion flow'd the purple draught : Each from his seat to each immortal pours, Whom glory circles in the Oh-mpian bowers. 30 Ulysses sole with air majestic stands. The bowl presenting to Arete 's hands ; 252 THE ODYSSEY Then thus : " 0 queen, farewell ! be still possess'd Of dear remembrance, blessing still and bless'd ! Till ago and death shall gently call thee hence : (Sure fate of every mortal excellence !) Farewell ! and joys successive ever spring To thee, to thine, the people, and the king !" Thus he : then parting prints the sandy shore To the fair port : a herald march'd before. Sent by Alcinous : of Arete's train Three chosen maids attend him to the main ; This does a tunic and white vest convej'', A various casket that, of rich inlay. And bread and \dne the third. The cheerful mates Safe in the hollow poop dispose the cates : Upon the deck, soft painted robes they spread, With linen cover'd, for the hero's bed, . He chml;)'d the loft}^ stern ; then gently press'd The swelling couch, and lay composed to rest. ) Now placed in order, the Phieacian train ! Their cables loose, and launch into the main : 20 At once they bend, and strike their equal oars. And leave the sinking hills, and lessening shores ; WTiile on the deck the chief in silence hes, And pleasing slumbers steal upon his eyes. As fiery coursers in the rapid race, 25 Urged by fierce drivers through the dust}^ space. Toss their high heads, and scour along the plain ; So mounts the bounding vessel o'er the main. Back to the stern the parted billows flow. And the black ocean foams and roars below. Thus with spread sails the winged galley flies ; Less swift an eagle cuts the liquid skies : ■^ i 30 THE ARRIVAL OF ULYSSES AT ITHACA 253 Divine Ulysses was her sacred load, A man in wisdom equal to a god ! Much danger, long and might\' toils he bore, In storms by sea, and combats on the shore ; All which soft sleep now banish'd from his breast, 5 Wrapp'd in a pleasing, deep, and death-hke rest. But when the morning star with early ray Flamed in the front of heaven, and promised day ; Like distant clouds the mariner descries, Fair Ithaca's emerging hills arise. 10 Far from the town a spacious port appears. Sacred to Phorcys' power, whose name it bears : Two craggy rocks projecting to the main, The roaring wind's tempestuous rage restrain ; Within, the waves in softer murmurs glide, 15 And ships secure without their halsers ride. High at the head a branching olive grows, And crowns the pointed cliffs with shady boughs. Beneath, a gloomy grotto's cool recess Delights the Nereids of the neighbouring seas ; 20 Where bowls and urns were form'd of living stone, And massy beams in native marble shone ; On which the labours of the nymphs were roll'd, Their webs divine of purple mix'd with gold. Within the cave, the clustering bees attend 25 Their waxen works, or from the roof depend. Perpetual waters o'er the pavement glide ; Two marble doors unfold on either side ; Sacred the south, by which the gods descend, But mortals enter at the northern end. 3a Thither they bent, and haul'd their ship to land, (The crooked keel divides the yellow sand ;) 254 THE ODYSSEY Ulj'sses sleeping on his couch tho}- })orc, And gentlj^ placed him on the rock}^ shore. His treasures next, Alcinous' gifts, they laid In the wild olive's unfrequented shade, Secure from theft : then launch'd the bark again, 5 Resumed their oars, and measured back the main. Nor yet forgot old Ocean's dread supreme" The vengeance vow'd for eyeless Polypheme. Before the throne of mighty Jove he stood ; And sought the secret counsels of the god. 10 ''Shall then no more, 0 sire of gods ! be mine The rights and honours of a power divine ? Scorn'd even by man, and (oh severe disgrace) By soft Phaeacians, my degenerate race ! Against j^on destined head in vain I swore, 15 And menaced vengeance, ere he reach'd his shore ; To reach his natal shore was thy decree ; Mild I obe3''d, for who shall war with thee ? Behold him landed, careless and asleep, From all the eluded dangers of the deep ! 20 Lo, where he lies, amidst a shining store Of brass, rich garments, and refulgent ore ; And bears triumphant to his native isle A prize more worth than Ilion's noble spoil." To whom the father of the immortal powers, 25 Who swells the clouds, and gladdens earth v.dth showers : ''Can mighty Neptune thus of man complain? Neptune, tremendous o'er the boundless main ! Revered and aw^ul even in heaven's abodes. Ancient and great ! a god above the gods ! 30 If that low race olTend thy power divine, (Weak, daring creatures !) is not vengeance thine ? THE ARRIVAL OF ULYSSES AT ITHACA *^55 Go, then, the guilty at thy will chastise." He said : the shaker of the earth replies : "This then I doom ; to fix the gallant ship A mark of vengeance on the sable deep : To warn the thoughtless self-confiding train, S Xo more unlicensed thus to brave the main. Full in their port a shady hill shall rise, If such thy will." — "We will it, (Jove rephes) Even when with transport blackening all the strand, The swarming people hail their ship to land, lo Fix her for ever, a memorial stone : Still let her seem to sail, and seem alone ; The trembhng crowds shall see the sudden shade Of whelming mountains overhang their head !" With that, the god whose earthquakes rock the grotind, Fierce to Pha&acia crossed the vast profound. i6 Swift as a swallow sweeps the liquid way. The winged pinnace shot along the sea, The god arrests her with a sudden stroke, And roots her down an everlasting rock. 20 Aghast the Scherians stand in deep surprise"; All press to speak, all question with their eyes. What hands unseen the rapid bark restrain ! And yet it swims, or seems to swim, the main ! Thus they, unconscious of the deed divine : 25 Till great Alcinous, rising, own'd the sign. "Behold the long-predestined day ! (he cries) 0 certain faith of ancient prophecies ! These ears have heard my royal sire disclose A dreadful story, big with future woes ; . 30 How, moved with wrath that careless we convey Promiscuous every guest to every bay, 256 THE ODYSSEY Stern Neptune raged ; and how bj^ his command Firm rooted in the surge a ship should stand, (A monument of -WTath ;) and mound on mound Should hide our walls, or whelm beneath the ground. "The fates have follow'd as declared the seer. 5 Be humbled nations ! and your monarch hear : Xo more unlicensed brave the deeps, no more With ever}' stranger pass from shore to shore ; On angr}' Neptune now for mercy call r To his high name let twelve black oxen fall. ic So may the god reverse his purposed will. Nor o'er our city hang the dreadful hill." The monarch spoke : they trembled and obey'd, Forth on the sands the victim oxen led : The gather'd tribes before the altars stand, 15 And chiefs and rulers, a majestic band. The king of ocean all the tribes implore ; The blazing altars redden all the shore. IMeanwhile Ulysses in his country lay. Released from sleep, and round liim might survey 20 The solitary shore, and rolling sea. Yet had his mind thi-ough tedious absence lost The dear remembrance of his native coast ; ' Besides, Minerva, to secure her care, Diffused around a veil of thicken'd air : 25 For so the gods ordain'd to keep unseen His roj^al person from his friends and queen ; Till the proud suitors for their crimes afford An ample vengeance to their injured lord. Now all the land another prospect bore, 30 Another port appear'd, another shore, And long-continued ways, and winding floods, THE ARRIVAL OF ULYSSES AT ITHACA 2o7 And unknown mountains, crown' d with unknown woods. Pensive and slow, with sudden grief oppress 'd The king arose, and beat his careful breast ; Cast a long look o'er all the coast and main. And sought, around, his native realm in vain : S Then with erected eyes stood fix'd in woe, And as he spoke, the tears began to flow. "Ye gods ! (he cried) upon what barren coast, In what new region is Ulysses tost ? Possess'd by wild barbarians, fierce in arms ? lo Or men, whose bosom tender pity warms ? Where shall this treasure now in safety lie ? And whither, whither, its sad owner fly ? Ah why did I Alcinous' grace implore ? Ah why forsake Phasacia's happy shore ? 15 Some juster prince perhaps had entertain'd, And safe restored me to my native land. Is this the promised, long-expected coast. And this the faith Phaeacia's rulers boast ? Oh righteous gods ! of all the great, how few 20 Are just to heaven, and to their promise true ! But he, the power to whose all-seeing eyes The deeds of men appear without disguise, 'Tis his alone to avenge the wrongs I bear : For still the oppress'd are his peculiar care. 25 To count these presents, and from thence to prove Their faith, is mine : the rest belongs to Jove." Then on the sands he ranged his wealthy store, The gold, the vests, the tripods, number'd o'er : All these he found, but still, in error lost, 30 Disconsolate he wanders on the coast. Sighs for his country, and laments again 258 THE ODYSSEY To the deaf rocks, and hoarse-resounding main. When lo ! the guardian goddess of the wise, Celestial Pallas, stood before his eyes ; In show a youthful swain, of form divine, Who seem'd descended from some princely line ; 5 A graceful robe her slender body dress'd, Ai^ound her shoulders flew the waving vest. Her decent hand a shining javelin bore. And painted sandals on her feet she wore. To whom the king : ''Whoe'er of human race lo Thou art, that wander'st in this desert place ! With joy to thee, as to some god, I bend, To thee my treasures and myself commend. 0 tell a T\Tetch in exile doom'd to stray, What air I breathe, what countrj^ I survey? 15 The fruitful continent's extremest bound. Or some fair isle which Neptune's arms surround?" "From what fair clime (said she) remote from fame Arrivest thou here, a stranger to our name ? Thou seest an island, not to those unknown 20 Whose hills are brighten'd bj^ the rising sun, Nor those that placed beneath his utmost reign Behold him sinking in the western main. The rugged soil allows no level space For fl^dng chariots, or the rapid race ; 25 Yet not ungrateful to the peasant's pain, Suffices fulness to the swelling grain : The loaded trees their various fruits produce. And clustering grapes afford a generous juice : Woods crown our mountains, and in every grove 5a The bounding goats and frisking heifers rove : Soft r-iins and kindly dews refresh the field, THE ARRIVAL OF ULYSSES AT ITHACA 259 And rising springs eternal verdure 3aeld, Even to those shores is Ithaca renown'd, Where Troy's majestic ruins strew the ground." At tliis, the chief with transport was possess'd, His panting heart exulted in his breast ; 5 Yet well dissembling his untimely joj^s, And veihng truth in plausible disguise, Thus, with an air sincere, in fiction bold. His ready tale the inventive hero told. ''Oft have I heard in Crete this island's name ; 10 For 'twas from Crete, my native soil, I came ; Self-banish'd thence. I sail'd before the ■v\and, And left my children and my friends behind. From fierce Idomeneus' revenge I flew. Whose son, the swift Orsilochus, I slew: 15 (With brutal force he seized my Trojan prey, Due to the toils of man}^ a bloody day.) Unseen I 'scaped ; and favour'd by the night In a Phoenician vessel took my flight. For Pyle or Ehs bound : but tempests tpss'd, 20 And raging billows drove us on your coast. In dead of night an unknown port we gain'd. Spent wdth fatigue, and slept secure on land. But ere the ros}^ morn renew'd the day. While in the embrace of pleasing sleep I lay, 25 Sudden, in\nted by auspicious gales. They land my goods, and hoist their fl^ang sails. Abandon 'd here, my fortune I deplore, A hapless exile on a foreign shore." Thus while he spoke, the blue-eyed maid began 3a With pleasing smiles to \\e\\ the godlike man : Then changed her form ; and now, divinely bright, 260 THE ODYSSEY Jove's heavenly daughter stood confess'd to sight : Like a- fair virgin in her beauty's bloom, Skiird in the illustrious labours of the loom. "0 still the same Ulysses ! (she rejoin'd) In useful craft successfuU}^ refined ! S Artful in speech, in action, and in mind ! Sufficed it not, that, thy long labours pass'd, Secure thou seest thy native shore at last ? But this to me? who, like thyself, excel In arts of counsel, and dissembling well ; lo To me, whose vnt exceeds the powers divine. No less than mortals are surpass'd by thine. Know'st thou not me ? who made thy life my care, Through ten years' wandering, and through ten j^ears' war ; Who taught thee arts, Alcinous to persuade, 15 To raise his wonder, and engage his aid ; And now appear, thy treasures to protect, Conceal thy person, thy designs direct. And tell what more thou must from fate expect : Domestic woes far hea\der to be borne ! 20 The pride of fools, and slaves' insulting scorn. But thou be silent, nor reveal thy state ; Yield to the force of unresisted fate^ And bear unmoved the wrongs of base mankind, The last, and hardest, conquest of the mind." 25 "Goddess of Wisdom ! (Ithacus° repUes) He who discerns thee must be truly wise. So seldom ^iew'd, and ever in disguise ! "WHien the bold Argives'' led their warring powers Against proud Ilion's well-defended towers, 30 Ulysses was thy care, celestial maid ! Graced with thy sight, and favour'd with thy aid. THE ARRIVAL OF ULYSSES AT ITHACA 261 But when the Trojan piles in ashes lay, And bound for Greece we plough 'd the watery way ; Our fleet dispersed, and driven from coast to coast, Thy sacred presence from that hour I lost : Till I beheld thy radiant form once more, 5 And heard thy counsels on Phseacia's shore. But, by the almighty author of thy race. Tell me, 0 tell, is this my native place ? For much I fear, long tracks of land and sea Divide this coast from distant Ithaca ; lo The sweet delusion kindly you impose, To soothe mj^ hopes, and mitigate my woes." Thus he. The blue-eyed goddess thus replies : "How prone to doubt, how cautious are the wise ! Who, versed in fortune, fear the flattering show is And taste not half the bliss the gods bestow. The more shall Pallas aid thy just desires. And guard the wisdom which herself inspires. Others, long absent from their native place. Straight seek their home, and fly with eager pace 20 To their wives' arms, and children's dear embrace. Not thus Ulysses : he decrees to prove His subjects' faith, and queen's suspected love; Who mourn'd her lord twice ten revohing years. And wastes the days in grief, the nights in tears. 25 But Pallas knew (thy friends and nav;^^ lost) Once more 'twas given thee to behold thy coast : Yet how could I with, adverse fate engage. And mighty Neptune's unrelenting rage ? Now lift th}^ longing eyes, while I restore 30 The pleasing prospect of thy native shore. Behold the port of Phorcys ! fenced around 262 THE ODYSSEY Witli rocky mountains, and with olives crown'd. Behold the gloom}' grot ! whose cool recess Dehghts the Xereids of the neighbouring seas : Whose now-neglected altars, in thy reign Blush'd with the blood of sheep and oxen slain. 5 Behold ! where Xeritus the clouds di\'ides, And shakes the waving forests on his sides." So spake the goddess, and the prospect clear'd, The mists cUspersed, and all the coast appear 'd. The king with joy confess'd liis place of birth. lo And on his knees salutes his mother earth : Then, with his suppliant hands upheld in air, Thus to the sea-green sisters sends his prayer : ''All hail ! ye virgin daughters of the main I Ye streams, beyond my hopes beheld again ! 15 To 3^ou once more your own Ulysses bows ; Attend his transports, and receive his vows ! If Jove prolong my days, and Pallas crown The growing virtues of m}" youthful son, To you shall rites di^'ine be ever paid, 20 And grateful offerings on your altars laid." Then thus Minerva : "From that anxious breast Dismiss those cares, and leave to heaven the rest. Our task be now ihy treasured stores to save, Deep in the close recesses of the cave : 25 Then future means consult" — she spoke, and trod The shady grot, that brighten'd mth the god. The closest caverns of the gi'ot she sought ; The gold, the brass, the robes, Ulysses brought ; These in the secret gloom the chief disposed ; 30 The entrance with a rock the goddess closed. Xow, seated in the olive's sacred shade, THE ARRIVAL OF ULYSSES AT ITHACA 263 Confer the hero and the martial maid. The goddess of the azure eyes began : — ''Son of Laertes ! much-experienced man ! The suitor-train thy earhest care demand, Of that luxurious race to rid the land : s Three years thy house their lawless rule has seen, And proud addresses to the matchless queen. But she thy absence mourns from day to day. And inly bleeds, and silent wastes away : Elusive of the bridal hour, she gives lo Fond hopes to all, and all with hopes deceives." To this Uh^sses : "O celestial maid ! Praised be thy counsel, and thy timely aid : Else had I seen m}^ native walls in vain. Like great iltrides just restored and slain. iS Vouchsafe the means of vengeance to debate, And plan with all thy arts the scene of fate. Then, then be present, and my soul inspire. As when we wrapp'd Troy's heaven-built walls in fire. Though leagued against me hundred heroes stand, 20 Hundreds shall fall, if Pallas aid my hand." She answer 'd : "In the dreadful day of fight Know, I am with thee, strong in all my might. If thou but equal to thyself be found. What gasping numbers then shall press the ground ! 25 What human victims stain the feastful floor ! How ^\dde the pavements float with guilty gore ! It fits thee now to wear a dark disguise. And secret walk, unknown to mortal eyes. For this, my hand shall wither every grace, 30 And ever}^ elegance of form and face, O'er thy smooth skin a bark of wrinkles spread, 264 TEE ODYSSEY Turn hoar the auburn honours of thy head, Disfigure every hmb with coarse attire, And in thy eyes extinguish all the fire ; Add all the wants and the decays of life, Estrange thee from thy own, thy son, thy wife ; s From the loath'd object every sight shall turn, And the blind suitors their destruction scorn. "Go first the master of thy herds to find. True to his charge, a loyal swain and kind : For thee he sighs ; and to the royal heir lo And chaste Penelope, extends his care. At the Coracian rock he now resides. Where Arethusa's sable water glides ; The sable water and the copious mast Swell the fat herd ; luxuriant, large repast ! is With liira, rest peaceful in the rural cell. And all j^ou ask his faithful tongue shall tell. Me into other realms my cares convey. To Sparta, still with female beauty ga}^ : For know, to Sparta thy loved offspring came, 20 To learn thy fortunes from the voice of fame." At this the father, with a father's care : "Must he too suffer, he, 0 goddess ! bear Of wanderings and of woes a wretched share? Through the ^nld ocean plough the dangerous way, 25 And leave his fortunes and his house a prey ? Why would'st not thou, oh all-enlighten'd mind ! Inform him certain, and protect him, kind?" To whom ]\Iinerva : "Be thy soul at rest ; And know, whatever heaven ordains, is best. 30 To fame I sent him, to acquire renown : To other regions is his ^-irtue known. THE ARRIVAL OF ULYSSES AT ITHACA 265 Secure he sits, near great Atrides placed ; With friendships strengthen'd, and with honours graced. But lo ! an ambush° waits his passage o'er ; Fierce foes insidious intercept the shore : In vain ! far sooner all the murderous brood This injured land shall fatten with their blood." She spake, then touch'd him with her powerful wand : The skin shrunk up, and wither'd at her hand : A swift old age o'er all his members spread ; A sudden frost was sprinlded on his head ; lo Nor longer in the heavy eye-ball sinned The glance divine, forth-beaming from the mind. His robe, which spots indelible besmear. In rags dishonest flutters \\dth the air : A stag's torn hide is lapp'd around his reins ; 15 A rugged staff his trembling hand sustains ; And at his side a wretched scrip was hung, Wide-patch'd, and knotted to a twisted thong. So look'd the chief, so moved ! to mortal eyes Object uncouth ! a man of miseries ! 20 While Pallas, cleaving the v/ide fields of air, To Sparta flies, Telemachus her care. BOOK XIV ARGUMENT THE CONVERSATION WITH EUM.EUS Ulysses arrives in disguise at the house of Eumseus, where he is received, entertained, and lodged, with the utmost hospitality. The several discourses of that faithful old servant, with the feigned story told by Ulysses to conceal himself, and other conversations on va- rious subjects, take up this entire book. But he, deep musing, o'er the mountains stray'd Through mazy thickets of the woodland shade, And cavern'd ways, the shaggy coast along, With cliffs and nodding forests overhung. Euma?us at his sjdvan lodge he sought, 5 A faithful servant, and wdthout a fault. Ulysses found him busied, as he sat Before the threshold of his rustic gate ; Around the mansion in a circle shone A rural portico of rugged stone : lo (In absence of his lord, with honest toil His own industrious hands had raised the pile) The wall was stone from neighbouring quarries borne. Encircled with a fence of native thorn, And strong with pales, by many a weary stroke 15 266 THE CONVERSATION WITH EUM^US Of stubborn labour hewn from heart of oak ; Frequent and thick. Within the space were rear'd Twelve ample cells, the lodgments of his herd. Full fifty pregnant females each contained ; The males without (a smaller race) remain'd ; Doom'd to supply the suitors' wasteful feast, A stock by daily luxury decreased ; Now scarce four hundred left. These to defend, Four savage dogs, a watchful guard, attend. Here sat Eumeeus, and his cares applied To form strong buskins of well-season 'd hide. Of four assistants who his labour share. Three now were absent on the rural care ; The fourth drove victims to the suitor-train : But he, of ancient faith, a simple swain, Sigh'd, while he furnish' d the luxurious board, And wearied heaven mth ^^^shes for his lord. Soon as Ulysses near the enclosure drew, With open mouths the furious mastiffs flew : Down sat the sage ; and cautious to withstand, Let fall the offensive truncheon from his hand. Sudden the master runs ; aloud he calls ; And from his hasty hand the leather falls ; With showers of stones he drives them far away ; The scattering dogs around at distance ba3^ "Unhappy stranger ! (thus the faithful swain Began with accents gracious and humane) What sorrow had been mine, if at my gate Thy reverend age had met a shameful fate ? Enough of woes already have I known ; Enough my master's sorrows and my own. While here (ungrateful task !) his herds I feed, 2C8 THE ODYSSEY Ordain'd for lawless rioters to l)leecl : Perhaps, supported at another's board, Far from hi§ country roams ni}' hapless lord ; Or sigh'd in exile forth his latest breath. Now cover'd with the eternal shade of death ! S "But enter this my homely roof, and see Our woods not void of hospitality : Then tell me whence thou art ? and what the share Of woes and wanderings thou wert born to bear?" He said ; and seconding the kind request, ic With friendly step precedes his unknown guest ; A shaggy goat's soft hide beneath him spread, And with fresh rushes heap'd an ample bed. Joy touch'd the hero's tender soul, to find So just reception from a heart so kind : 15 "And oh, ye gods ! with all your blessings grace (He thus broke forth) this friend of human race !" The swain rephed : "It never was our guise To slight the poor, or aught humane despise ; For Jove unfolds oilr hospitable door, 20 'Tis Jove that sends the stranger and the poor. Little, alas ! is all the good I can ; A man oppress'd, dependant, yet a man : Accept such treatment as a swain affords, Slave to the insolence of youthful lords ! 25 Far hence is by unequal gods removed That man of bounties, loving and beloved ! To whom whate'er his slave enjoys is owed, And more, had fate allov/'d, had been bestow'd : But fate condemn'd him to a foreign shore ; 30 Much have I sorrow'd, but my master more. Now cold he lies, to death's embrace resign'd : THE CONVERSATION WITH EUM^US 269 Ah, perish Helen° ! perish all her kind ! For whose cursed cause, in Agamemnon's name, He trod so fatally the paths of fame." His vest succinct then girding round his waist, Forth rush'd the swain ^vith hospitable haste, 5 Straight to the lodgments of his herd he run. Where the fat porkers slept beneath the sun ; Of two, his cutlass launch'd the spouting blood ; These quarter'd, singed, and fix'd on forks of wood, All hasty on the hissing coals he threw ; 10 And smoking back the tasteful viands drew, Broachers and all ; then on the board displayed The ready meal, before Ulysses laid, With flour imbrown'd ; next mingled wine yet new. And luscious as the bee's nectareous dew : 15 Then sat companion of the friendly feast. With open look ; and thus bespoke his guest : "Take with free welcome what our hands prepare, Such food as falls to simple servants' share ; The best our lords consume ; those thoughtless peers, 20 Rich without bounty, guilty without fears ! Yet sure the gods their impious acts detest. And honour justice and the righteous breast. Pirates and conquerors, of harden'd mind. The foes of peace, and scourges of mankind, 25 To whom offending men are made a pre}^. When Jove in vengeance gives a land away ; Even these, when of their ill-got spoils possess'd. Find sure tormentors in the guilty breast ; Some voice of God close whispering from within, 3a 'Wretch ! this is villany, and this is sin.' But these, no doubt, some oracle explore, 270 THE ODYSSEY That tells, the great Uh''sses is no more. Hence springs their confidence, and from our sighs Their rapine strengthens, and their riots rise : Constant as Jove the night and day bestows. Bleeds a whole hecatomb, a vintage flows. S None match'd tliis hero's wealth, of all who reign O'er the fair islands of the neighbouring main. Nor all the monarchs whose far-dreaded sway The wide-extended continents obey : First on the mainland, of Ulj^sses' breed lo Twelve herds, twelve floclvs, on ocean's margin feed ; As many stalls for shaggy goats are rear'd ; As manj^ lodgments for the tusky herd ; Those foreign keepers guard : and here are seen Twelve herds of goats that graze our utmost green ; 15 To native pastors® is their charge assign'd ; And mine the care to feed the bristly kind : Each day the fattest bleeds of either herd. All to the suitors' wasteful board preferr'd." Thus he, benevolent : his unknown guest 20 With hunger keen devours the savoury feast ; While schemes of vengeance ripen in his breast. Silent and thoughtful while the board he ej^d, Eumjeus pours on high the purple tide ; The king ^\ith smiling looks his jo)'' express'd, 25 And thus the kind inviting host address'd : "Say now, what man is he, the man deplored, So rich, so potent, whom you style your lord ? Late w^th such affluence and possessions bless'd, And now in honour's glorious bed at rest. 30 Whoever was the warrior, he must be To fame no stranger, nor perhaps to me ; THE CONVERSATION WITH EUM.EUS 271 Who (so the gods, and so the fates ordain'd) Have wander'd many a sea, and many a land." ''Small is the faith the prince and queen ascribe (Replied Eumseus) to the wandering tribe : For needy strangers still to flattery fly, S And want too oft betrays the tongue to lie. Each vagrant traveller that touches here, Deludes with fallacies the royal ear, To dear remembrance makes his image rise, And calls the springing sorrows from her eyes. lo Such thou may'st be. But he whose name you crave Moulders in earth, or welters on the wave, Or food for fish, or dogs, his rehcs lie. Or torn by birds are scatter' d through the sky. So perish'd he : and left (for ever lost) is Much woe to all, but sure to me the most. So mild a master never shall I find : Less dear the parents whom I left behind, Less soft my mother, less mj^ father kind. Not wdth such transport would my eyes run o'er, 20 Again to hail them in their native shore, As loved Ulysses once more to embrace, Restored and breathing in his natal place. That name for ever dread, yet ever dear, Even in his absence I pronounce ^dth fear : 25 In my respect, he bears a prince's part ; And lives a very brother in my heart." Thus spoke the faitliful swain, and thus rejoin'd The master of his grief, the man of patient mind : "Ulysses, friend ! shall view his old abodes, 3d Distrustful as thou art, nor doubt the gods. Nor speak I rashly, but with faith averr'd, THE ODYSSEY And what I speak attesting heaven has heard. If so, a cloak and vesture be my meed ; Till his return no titfe shall I plead, Though certain be my news, and great my need. Whom want itself can force untruths to tell, S My soul detests him as the gates of hell. "Thou first be witness, hospitable Jove ! And every god inspiring social love ! And witness every household power that waits Guard of these fires, and angel of these gates ! lo Ere the next moon increase, or this decay, His ancient realms Ulysses shall surve}^ In blood and dust each proud oppressor mourn, And the lost glories of his house return." "Nor shall that meed be thine, nor ever more 15 Shall loved Ulysses hail this happy shore (Rephed Eumseus :) to the present hour Now turn thy thought and joys within our power. From sad reflection let my soul repose ; The name of him awakes a thousand woes. 20 But guard him, gods ! and to these arms restore ! Not his true consort can desire him more ; Not old Laertes, broken wdth despair ; Not young Telemachus, his blooming heir. Alas, Telemachus ! my sorrows flow 25 Afresh for thee, mj^ second cause of woe ! Like some fair plant set by a heavenly hand, He grew, he flourish'd, and he bless'd the land ; In all the youth his father's image shined, Bright in his person, brighter in his mind. 30 What man, or god, deceived his better sense, Far on the swelling seas to wander hence ? THE CONVERSATION WITH EUM^US 273 To distant Pylos hapless is he gone, To seek his father's fate, and find his own ! For traitors wait his way, \\dth dire design To end at once the great Arcesian hne. But let us leave him to their wills above ; 5 The fates of men are in the hand of Jove. And now, my venerable guest, declare Your name, your parents, and your native air : Sincere, from whence begun your course relate, And to what ship I owe the friendly freight." lo Thus he : and thus, with prompt invention bold, The cautious chief his ready story told : "On dark reserve what better can prevail, Or from the fluent tongue produce the tale. Than when two friends, alone, in peaceful place 15 Confer, and wines and cates the table grace ; But most the kind in\dter's cheerful face ? Thus might we sit, with social goblets crown'd, Till the whole circle of the year goes round ; Not the whole circle of the year would close 20 My long narration of a life of woes. But such was heaven's high will ! Know then, I came From sacred Crete, and from a sire of fame. Castor Hylacides (that name he bore) Beloved and honour'd in his native shore ; 25 Bless'd in his riches, in his children more. Sprung of a handmaid, from a bought embrace, I shared his kindness with his lawful race : But when that fate, which all must undergo. From earth removed him to the shades below, 3a The large domain his greedy sons divide, And each was portion'd as the lots decide. 274 THE ODYSSEY Little, alas ! was left my wretched share, Except a house, a covert from the air : But what by niggard fortune was denied, A willing widow's copious wealth supplied. My valour was my plea, a gallant mind S That, true to honour, never lagg'd behind ; (The sex is ever to a soldier kind.) Now wasting years my former strength confound, And added woes have bow'd me to the ground ; Yet by the stubble you may guess the grain, lo And mark the ruins of no vulgar man. Me, Pallas gave to lead the martial storm, And the fair ranks of battle to deform : Me, ]\Iars inspired to turn the foe to flight. And tempt the secret ambush of the night. 15 Let ghastly death in all his forms appear, I saw him not ; it was not mine to fear. Before the rest I raised my ready steel ; The first I met, he yielded, or he fell. But works of peace my soul disdain'd to bear, 20 The rural labour, or domestic care. To raise the mast, the missile dart to wing, And send swift arrows from the bounding string. Were arts the gods made gi-ateful to my mind : Those gods who turn (to various ends design'd) 25 The various thoughts and talents of mankind. Before the Grecians touched the Trojan plain, Nine times commander or by land or main, In foreign fields I spread my glory far. Great in the praise, rich in the spoils of war : 30 Thence charged with, riches, as increased in fame. To Crete return'd, an honourable name. THE CONVERSATION WITH EUM^EUS 275 But when great Jove that direful war decreed, Which roused all Greece, and made the mighty bleed, Our states myself and Idomen employ _ To lead their fleets and carry death to Troy. Nine years we warr'd : the tenth saw Ilion fall ; S Homeward we sail'd, but heaven dispersed us all. One only month my wife enjoy 'd my stay; So w4ird the god who gives and takes away. Nine ships I rnann'd, equipp'd with ready stores^ Intent to voyage to the Egj^ptian shores ; lo In feast and sacrifice my chosen train Six- days consumed ; the seventh w^e plough'd the main. Crete's ample fields diminish to our eye ; Before the Boreal blast the vessels fly : Safe through the level seas we sweep our way ; is The steerman governs, and the ships obey. The fifth fair morn we stem the Egyptian tide. And tilting o'er the bay the vessels ride : To anchor there my fellows I command, And spies commission to explore the land. 20 But sway'd by lust of gain, and headlong will, The coasts they ravage, and the natives kill. The spreading clamour to their citj^ flies, And horse and foot in mingled tumult rise. The reddening dawn reveals the circling fields 25 Horrid vnih. bristly spears, and glancing shields. Jove thunder 'd on their side. Our guilty head We turn'd to flight : the gathering vengeance spread On all parts round, and heaps on heaps lie dead. I then explored my thought, what course to prove? 3a (And sure the thought was dictated by Jove ; Oh had he left me to that happier doom, 276 THE ODYSSEY And saved a life of miseries to come !) The radiant helmet from my brows unlaced, And low on earth m}' shield and javelin cast, I meet the monarch with a supphant's face, Approach his chariot, and his knees embrace. 5 He heard, he saved, he placed me at his side : M}' state he pitied, and Tny tears he dried, Restrained the rage the vengeful foe express'd. And turn'd the deadly weapons from my breast : Pious ! to guard the hospitable rite, lo And fearing Jove, whom mercy's works delight. ''In Egj-pt thus \\'ith peace and plent}" bless'd I lived (and happj^ still had lived) a guest : On seven bright years successive blessings wait ; The next changed all the colour of my fate. 15 A false Phoenician, of insidious mind, Versed in vile arts, and foe to humankind. With semblance fair in^'ites me to his home ; I seized the proffer (ever fond to roam ;) Domestic in his faithless roof I stay'd, 20 Till the swift sun his annual circle made. To Lybia then he meditates the wa}' ; With guileful art a stranger to betray, And sell to bondage in a foreign land : Much doubting, j^et compell'd, I quit the strand. 25 Through the mid seas the nimble pinnace sails, Aloof from Crete, before the northern gales : But when remote her chalky cliffs we lost. And far from ken of any other coast. When all was wild expanse of sea and air, 30 Then doom'd high Jove due vengeance to prepare. He hung a night of horrors o'er their head, THE CONVERSATION WITH EUM^US 211 (The shaded ocean blacken'd as it spread ;) He launched the fiery bolt ; from pole to pole Broad burst the lightnings, deep the thunders roll ; In giddy rounds the whirling ship is tost, And all in clouds of smothering sulphur lost. 5 As from a hanging rock's tremendous height, The sable crows with intercepted flight Drop endlong ; scarr'd, and black with sulphurous hue, So from the deck are hurl'd the ghastly crew. Such end the wicked found ! But Jove's intent 10 Was yet to save the oppress'd and innocent. Placed on the mast (the last recourse of life) With mnds and waves I held unequal strife ; For nine long days the billows tilting o'er, The tenth soft wafts me to Thesprotia's shore, 15 The monarch's son a shipwTeck'd wretch relieved, The sire with hospitable rites received. And in his palace like a brother placed, With gifts of price and gorgeous garments graced. While here I sojourn'd, oft I heard the fame 20 How late Ulysses to the country came, How loved, how honour'd in this court he staid, And here his whole collected treasure laid ; I saw myself the vast unnumber'd store Of steel elaborate, and refulgent ore, 25 And brass high heap'd amidst the regal dome ; Immense supplies for ages y^i to come ! Meantime he voyaged to explore the will Of Jove on high Dodona's holy hill, What means might best his safe return avail, 3a To come in pomp, or bear a secret sail ? Full oft has Phidon, whilst he pour'd the wine, 278 THE ODYSSEY Attesting solemn all the powers divine, That soon Ulysses would return, declared. The sailors waiting, and the ships prepared. But first the king dismiss 'd me from his shores, For fair Dulichium crown'd with fruitful stores ; 5 To good Acastus' friendly care consign'd : But other counsels pleased the sailors' mind : New frauds were plotted by the faithless train, And misery demands me once again. Soon as remote from shore they plough the v/ave, 10 With ready hands they rush to seize their slave ; Then with these tatter'd rags they wTap me round, (Stripp'd of my own) and to the vessel bound. At eve, at Ithaca's dehghtful land The ship arrived : forth issuing on the sand, 15 They sought repast ; while to the unhappy kind, The pitying gods themselves my chains unbind. Soft I descended, to the sea apphed My naked breast, and shot along the tide. Soon pass'd beyond their sight, I left the flood, 20 And took the spreachng shelter of the wood. Their prize escaped, the faithless pirates mourn'd, But deem'd inquir}- vain, and to their sliip return'd. Screen'd by protecting gods from hostile eyes. They led me to a good man and a wdse ; 25 To live beneath thy hospitable care, And wait the woes heaven dooms me yet to bear." "Unhappy guest ! whose sorrows touch my mind ! (Thus good Eumseus with a sigh rejoin'd) For real sufferings since I grieve sincere, 30 Check not with fallacies the springing tear ; Xor turn the passion into groundless joy THE CONVERSATION WITH EUM.EUS 279 For him, whom heaven has destined to destroy. Oh ! had he perisiied on some well-fouglit day, Or in his friends' embraces died away ! That grateful Greece with streaming eyes might raise Historic marbles, to record his praise : 5 His praise, eternal on the faithful stone, Had wdth transmissive honours graced his son. Now snatch'd by harpies to the dreary coast, Sunk is the hero, and his glory lost ! While pensive in this solitary den, lo Far from gay cities, and the ways of men, I hnger life ; nor to the court repair. But when the constant queen commands my care ; Or w^hen, to taste her hospitable board. Some guest arrives with rumours of her lord ; 15 And these indulge their want, and those their woe, And here the tears, and there the goblets flow. By many such have I been warn'd ; but chief By one .Etolian robb'd of all behef, Whose hap it was to this our roof to roam, 20 For murder banish'd from his native home : He swore, Ulysses on the coast of Crete Staid but a season to refit his fleet ; A few revoh-ing months should waft him o'er, Fraught -wdth bold warriors, and a boundless store. 25 0 thou ! whom age has taught to understand, And heaven has guided with a favouring hand, On god or mortal to obtrude a lie Forbear, and dread to flatter, as to die. Not for such ends my house and heart are free, 30 But dear respect to Jove, and charity." "And why, 0 swain of unbelieving mind ! 280 THE ODYSSEY (Thus quick replied the \visest of mankind) Doubt you my oath ? yet more my faith to try, A solemn compact let us ratify, And witness every power that rules the sky ! If here Ulysses from his labours rest, 5 Be then my prize a tunic and a vest ; And, where my hopes iuAite me, straight transport In safety to Duhchium's friendlj^ court. But if he greets not thy desiring eye, Hurl me from yon dread precipice on high ; 10 The due reward of fraud and perjury." "Doubtless, 0 guest ! great laud and praise were mine (Replied the swain) for spotless faith di\dne, If, after social rites and gifts bestow'd, I stain'd my hospitable hearth ^\'ith blood : 15 How would the gods my righteous toils succeed, And bless the hand that made a stranger bleed ? No more — the approaching hours of silent night First claim refection, then to rest imite ; Beneath our humble cottage let us haste, 20 And here, unenvied, rural dainties taste." Thus communed these ; while to their lowly dome The full-fed s\\ine return'd T\ith evening home ; Compell'd, reluctant, to their several sties. With din obstreperous, and ungrateful cries. 25 Then to the slaves — ''Now from the herd the best Select, in honoiu- of our foreign guest : With him, let us the genial banquet share, For great and many are the griefs v\'e bear ; While those who from our labours heap their board, 30 Blaspheme their f